Monthly survey on retail trade 2024Mar
Published on 22 April 2024
Manufactured goods sales increased by 0.5% in the first quarter
Note: The change in retail sales does not reflect the change in total household consumption as the latter includes other items such as health care, education and rents.
In March, for the third consecutive month, turnover in retail trade (adjusted for seasonal and working-day variations) rose, to 0.5% compared with February, after 0.3% the previous month. Sales of manufactured goods increased sharply over the month (1.0% after 0.6%), albeit with contrasting developments across sectors: in particular, sales of sports equipment (11.2% after -3.7%), books (4.2% after -1.3%) and footwear (2.5% after 1.6%) all grew, while sales of furniture (-5.0% after -1.8%) and new cars (-3.3% after 3.1%) lost ground.
Food sales were stable (0.0% after -0.2%).
In terms of distribution channels , hyper/supermarket sales were stable, those of small retailers increased somewhat (0.9% after 1.3%), while those of department stores contracted (-3.4% after 2.3%).
Comparing the first quarter with the previous quarter, turnover in retail trade as a whole edged up (0.2%, after -0.6% in Q4 2023), with a rise for manufactured goods (0.5%, after -0.7% in the previous quarter) and a fall for food products (-0.3%, after -0.6% in the previous quarter).
Food sales were stable (0.0% after -0.2%).
In terms of distribution channels , hyper/supermarket sales were stable, those of small retailers increased somewhat (0.9% after 1.3%), while those of department stores contracted (-3.4% after 2.3%).
Comparing the first quarter with the previous quarter, turnover in retail trade as a whole edged up (0.2%, after -0.6% in Q4 2023), with a rise for manufactured goods (0.5%, after -0.7% in the previous quarter) and a fall for food products (-0.3%, after -0.6% in the previous quarter).
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. Total and manufactured products series are reconstituted by aggregating the SA-WDA series of the sub-components.
3) SA-WDA: Seasonally and workind-day adjusted
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. Total and manufactured products series are reconstituted by aggregating the SA-WDA series of the sub-components.
3) SA-WDA: Seasonally and workind-day adjusted
Download the PDF version of the document
COM_DET_2286_en__retail-trade-march-2024.pdf
Additional links
Breakdown by industrial product and outlet category – March 2024