INSIGHTS
- In March of this year compared to February, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail commerce decreased in the euro area by 1.2% and in the EU by 1.1%.
- March saw a 2.2% year-over-year (YoY) decline in the retail trade volume for non-food items in the euro area.
- In the EU, the volume of such items decreased by 3.2% YoY.
According to estimates from the EU statistics agency Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased in March of this year compared to February in both the euro area and the European Union (EU) by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively.
In the euro region and the EU, the volume of retail commerce fell by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, in February.In the euro area and the EU, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index fell by 3.8% and 4.1%, respectively, year over year.
The countries with the highest monthly drops in the volume of all retail sales were Latvia (-2.7%), Germany and Poland (both -2.4%), and Luxembourg (-1.9%). The countries with the largest increases were Romania (2.9%), Portugal (2.3%), and Ireland (1%).
For non-food items, retail trade volume in the euro area declined by 2.2% YoY in March. For such items, the retail trade volume in the EU fell by 3.2%
The highest annual declines in the overall retail trade volume were recorded in Estonia (minus 13.5%), Hungary (minus 13.2%), and Slovenia (minus 12.8%), among the member states for which statistics are available. The countries with the largest increases were Spain (10.8%), Romania (7.2%), and Cyprus (5.6%).
By- Mansi Suryawanshi
