By Andrew Hay
MADRID, April 28 (Reuters) - Spanish retail sales suffered their second largest fall on record in March as soaring unemployment and tumbling house prices scared off shoppers.
Faced with their worst recession since the 1930s, Spaniards cut back on purchases of clothes and big-ticket consumer goods, sending overall retail sales down 8.2 percent in March.
That was less than a forecast 9.9 percent decline, and a record fall of 9.1 percent in February, and some analysts said Spain's retail slide could be stabilising after 16 consecutive months of decline.
Most economists said it was too early to talk of recovery given unemployment is rising faster in Spain than any other developed country and expected to hit 20 percent this year.
"You're starting to get easier comparables because we're in a decline for over a year, but an 8 percent fall is certainly not small," said analyst Luca Solca at Bernstein in London.
Spain's retail data was skewed by the fact Easter fell in April this year, rather than March, meaning there were more people on holiday in March last year and more shoppers.
Spain has been hit by both the global financial crisis and a housing boom collapse, forcing retailers to offer heavy discounts to lure in shoppers.
Spanish clothing brands like Zara have launched a price war,
with the flagship chain of Europe's largest clothing retailer
Inditex
March data showed clothing and footwear sales fell 6.9 percent year-on-year, while household goods tumbled 18.8 percent, adding to risks Spain could enter a deflationary cycle later in the year. (Additional reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Mike Peacock)