The Commerce Departments report Tuesday showed that retail sales have retraced some of the record-setting month-to-month plunges of March (8.3%) and April (14.7%) as businesses have increasingly reopened. Still, the pandemics damage to retail sales remains severe, with purchases still down 6.1% from a year ago. Retail sales account for roughly half of all consumer spending, which fuels about 70% of total economic activity. The Commerce Department is expected to report Tuesday that retail purchases climbed 9% from April to May, according to economists surveyed by the data provider FactSet. Still, the recession caused by the pandemic continues to depress overall retail spending.