The Census Bureau's Monthly Retail Trade Report  showed sales for hardware stores -- NAICS code 44413 -- were $1.298 billion in January, the most recent month of available data in this business classification. That's down 22.9% from December's unadjusted figure of $1.683 billion.

But the rush on extra ice melt and shovels had a positive side: January sales were up 1.6% compared with January 2010. 

The data was released Tuesday along with advanced monthly retail sales for February.