Hello. I'm Josh Dahmen, AVP of Finance and Investor Relations, and I will review our sales results for the five-week retail month of March, which started on Monday, March 3rd, and ended on Sunday, April 6th. This period is compared to the five weeks that began last year on Monday, March 4th, and ended on Sunday, April 7th. This call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, and/or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in today's call and sales release, as well as other risks identified from time to time in the company's public statements and reports filed with the SEC.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company does not undertake to update them except as required by law. Comparable sales and comparable sales excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange are intended as supplemental information and are not a substitute for net sales presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
As reported in our release, net sales for the month came in at $25.51 billion, an increase of 8.6% from $23.48 billion last year. March had one additional shopping day versus last year due to the calendar shift of Easter. This positively impacted total and comparable sales by approximately 1.5%. Reported comparable sales for the month were as follows: in the U.S., 7.5%; Canada, 4.1%; other international, 2.9%; total company, 6.4%; and E-com, 16.2%.
Comparable sales for the month, excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, were as follows: in the U.S., 8.7%; Canada, 10.6%; other international, 9.9%; total company, 9.1%; and E-com, 17.5%. Our comp traffic, or frequency for the month, was 6.1% both worldwide and in the U.S. Foreign currency year over year relative to the U.S. dollar negatively impacted total and comparable sales as follows: Canada by approximately 6.1%; other international by approximately 6.6%; and total company by approximately 1.7%.
Gas price deflation negatively impacted total reported comp sales by approximately 0.9%. The average worldwide selling price per gallon was down approximately 7.4% versus last year. Worldwide, the average transaction was up about 0.3%, which includes the impacts from gas deflation and the FX.
In terms of regional and merchandising categories, the general highlights were as follows: U.S. regions with the strongest comparable sales were the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. Other international and local currencies, we saw the strongest results in Spain, Mexico, and Taiwan. Moving to merchandise highlights, the following comparable sales results by category for the month exclude the impact of foreign exchange. Foods and Sundries were positive high single- digits.
Better performing departments included cooler, frozen foods, and candy. Fresh Foods were up low double- digits. Better performing departments included meat and produce. Non-Foods were positive low double digits. Better performing departments included jewelry, toys and seasonal, and Majors. Ancillary business sales were down low single- digits. Pharmacy, optical, and hearing aids were the top performers. Gas was down high single digits, driven by price per gallon changes year- over- year.
Looking ahead, the April reporting period will include the four weeks beginning April 7th and ending May 4th compared to the four weeks beginning April 8th and ending May 5th, 2024. April will have one fewer shopping day than last year due to the timing of Easter. If you have any investor relations questions, please call David Sherwood at 425-313-8239, Andrew Yoon at 425-313-6305, or me at 425-313-8254. This recording will be available until 4:00 P.M. Pacific Time, Wednesday, April 16th.