Monthly Survey of Trade
Retail sales change by -0.2% in January and half of the activities record decrease
March 12, 2021 09h00 AM | Last Updated: March 12, 2021 12h35 PM
Retail trade in the country leveled off in January, against the December 2020 figure, with a change of -0.2%. In comparison with the result of January last year, retail trade reached -0.3%, first negative rate in a row after seven months recording positive rates. The cumulative index in 12 months stayed at 1.0%. Data comes from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (12), by the IBGE.
Four of the eight activities surveyed recorded negative rates against December, with an impact on the January result. Among those, hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, the main sector of retail trade, fell by 1.6%. Other decreases came from books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-26.5%), fabric, wearing apparel and footwear (-8.2%) and furniture and household appliances (-5.9%). Fuels and lubricants, in turn, leveled off (-0.1%).
On the other hand, other personal and domestic articles (8.3%), pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (2.6%) and office, computer and communication material and equipment (2.2%) had a positive impact on the indicator from December to January.
“As the application of resourceshas decreased since October, consuming capacity was reduced, with a direct impact on trade, causing indicators to be leveled off in November (-0.1%), decrease in December (-6.2%), and, now, stability in January (-0.2%),” says the head of PMC, Cristiano Santos.
Extended retail records a decrease of 2.1%, with reduced sales of vehicles
Volume of sales of extended retail trade, which includes, besides retail trade, vehicles and construction material, recorded a decrease of 2.1% in January from December, accounting for the second negative result in a row. That was due to the sector of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (-3.6%), whereas construction material recorded positive figures (0.3%).
“January was marked by resumption of the pandemic, with restrictions imposed on commercial establishments in some states, which had a major impact on the vehicle sector. Vehicles accounted for the second main contribution to trade, and had recorded a decrease in December (-3.3%),” Mr. Santos adds.
Extended retail trade recorded a 2.9% decrease from January Na 2020, first negative result after six months of positive changes. The cumulative indicator in the last 12 months pointed to deceleration from December (-1.4%) to January (-1.9%).
Sales decrease by 29.7% in January in Amazonas due to aggravation of the pandemic
The head of PMC also mentions that retail trade recorded negative changes in 23 of the 27 Federation Units in January. The lowest result was that of Amazonas, where sales fell by 29.7%, over three times more than in other states, against the December 2020 figure.
“Aggravation of the pandemic in the state led to a new lockdown similarly to that of March 2020. That resulted in a significant decrease of trade indicators for the state in the period,” Cristiano Santos explains.
In regional terms, the main decreases came from Rondônia (-9.1%), Ceará (-4.9%), Mato Grosso (-4.2%) and Santa Catarina (-4.1%). The only four states recording increase in sales, in January, were Minas Gerais (8.3%), Tocantins (3.7%), Acre (1.1%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (0.8%)
