Retail sales fell 1.7% in June compared to May after two months of rise, a much worse result than expected

“With the June result, there is a two-month interruption of growth. Despite this decline, retail is still above the February 2020 level, that is, before the pandemic. But, compared to the chain’s record level, which was in October 2020, the sector is down by 3.9 %”, says Director of Research, Cristiano Santos.

Five of the eight activities examined by the survey declined in the May-June period. Among them, the sharpest decline was in the textile, clothing and footwear sector (-3.6%), which recorded increases in April (16.3%) and May (10.2%). “In retail as a whole, there are some activities that fell more strongly because they saw a certain recovery in April and May, which raised the basis for comparison. This was the case with fabrics, apparel and footwear, an activity that has not yet recovered from the level of February last year,” he says researcher.

Other goods for personal and household use also decreased (-2.6%), fuels and lubricants (-1.2%), supermarkets and supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.5) in the May-June period.

The Books, Newspapers, Magazines and Stationery segment grew 5.0% in June. It is the third positive result in a row for this activity. Even with these recent increases, the sector has not been able to recover what it lost during the year: there is a cumulative decline of 22.8% between January and June. “This sector is losing its importance and revenue as it is affected by the replacement of physical stores with digital ones, among other technological changes,” Cristiano analyzes.

Other activities that grew in this comparison were furniture and household appliances (1.6%), pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic, perfume and cosmetics (0.4%).

In the expanded retail trade, which, in addition to retail trade, includes the activities of vehicles, motorcycles, spare parts, parts and building materials, sales volume decreased by 2.3% compared to May.

The decline subtracts a portion of the 3.2% increase recorded in the previous month. In this comparison, vehicles, motorcycles, parts and parts changed -0.2% in June, while building materials rose 1.9%.

on an annual basis

Retail business grew 6.3% in June compared to the same month a year earlier. This is the fourth consecutive growth in this indicator. Positive results were disseminated by six of the eight activities examined, mainly textiles, clothing and footwear (61.8%). Other articles for personal and home use (22.6%) and books, newspapers, magazines, and stationery (17.1%).

In this indicator, the retail trade made gains, mainly, in the activities most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, such as fabrics, clothing, shoes and other items for personal and home use.

In the large-scale retail sector, there was an 11.5% increase in June year-on-year, with an increase of 33.1% for vehicle, motorcycle, and parts activity and 5.3% for building materials.

By comparison, there is a slower pace of growth in June. In previous months, the increases were even more significant due to the very low base of comparison. It differs from comparing, for example, to March or April of the previous year, the months that formed the beginning of the epidemic in the country,” he says.

(with IBGE News Agency)