Monthly survey on retail trade 2023Apr
Published on 25 May 2023
Turnover in retail trade dipped slightly in April
Note: The trend in retail sales does not reflect that of total household consumption: the latter includes other items such as health care, education and rents.
In April, turnover in retail trade dropped, down by 2.1% compared with March (adjusted for seasonal and working day variations), when it had risen by 1.2% compared with February. Sales of manufactured goods contracted by 1.8% (after increasing by 0.9% in March) on average, with contrasting trends across sub-sectors: DIY sales (up 3.7% after -5.1%) and games and toys (up 4.3% after -0.1%) improved, while furniture (-6.8% after 0.4%), consumer electronics (-5.8% after -0.4%), new cars (-3.6% after 4.8%) and optical equipment (-4.1% after 0.0%) declined.
Although they were up month-on-month (+3.4% compared with March), food sales continued their downward trend year-on-year (-12.4% compared with April 2022).
In terms of distribution channels, sales fell across the board, in particular for small retailers (down 4.1%) and hypermarkets (down 2.2%).
Quarter-on-quarter, overall turnover in retail trade increased slightly (up 0.4%), thanks to the rise in manufactured goods (1.2%), while food sales posted a slight decrease (-0.6%).
Although they were up month-on-month (+3.4% compared with March), food sales continued their downward trend year-on-year (-12.4% compared with April 2022).
In terms of distribution channels, sales fell across the board, in particular for small retailers (down 4.1%) and hypermarkets (down 2.2%).
Quarter-on-quarter, overall turnover in retail trade increased slightly (up 0.4%), thanks to the rise in manufactured goods (1.2%), while food sales posted a slight decrease (-0.6%).
Total manufactured goods and food sales
Month-on-month change (%) - Seasonally and working-day adjusted volumes
Notes :
1) Sectors are classified according to the relative weight of the products included in the total aggregate of retail trade (weights are given on the right scale)
2) The aggregated and by sub-sector series are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis: the seasonally adjusted series do not represent the sum of the seasonally adjusted components.
1) Sectors are classified according to the relative weight of the products included in the total aggregate of retail trade (weights are given on the right scale)
2) The aggregated and by sub-sector series are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis: the seasonally adjusted series do not represent the sum of the seasonally adjusted components.
Download the PDF version of the document
COM_DET_2270_en__retail-trade-april-2023.pdf
Additional links
Breakdown by industrial product and outlet category - April 2023