In September 2018, retail trade in the country decreased by 1.3% against the August rate, in the seasonally-adjusted series, after an increase of 2.0% in August. As a result, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index of retail trade decelerated, with a change from 0.5% in the quarter ended August to 0.1% in the quarter ended September this year.

In the series without seasonal adjustment, versus September 2017, retail trade remained stable (0.1%) in September 2018. In spite of that, the indexes were positive both in the end of Q3 2018 (1.0%), and in terms of the cumulative index in nine months this year (2.3%), both comparisons against similar period in the previous year. The cumulative indicator in the last 12 months, having changed from 3.3% in August to 2.8% in September, points to a decrease in sales. 

Extended retail trade, which encompasses the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and Construction material, volume of sales decreased 1.5% in relation to August, making up for the increase of 4.2% in the previous month and contributing to the deceleration the quarterly moving average index of the quarter ended September (0.8%), pointing to a decrease of sales in comparison with the quarterly moving average of the quarter ended August (2.2%)

Against September 2017, extended retail trade recorded an increase of 2.2%, the seventeenth positive rate in a row. As a result, extended retail had cumulative increase of 5.2% in the cumulative indicator in the year and of 4.0% in Q3 2018. The cumulative index in 12 months, having changed from 6.4% up to August to 5.8% up to September, also pointed to a deceleration of sales. The complete publication is available on the right of the page. 

Six of the eight activities surveyed recorded increase

The decrease of 1.3% in the volume of retail trade sales, from August to September 2018, in the seasonally-adjusted series, was followed by a predominance of negative results in six of the eight activities surveyed: in increasing order: Fuels and lubricants (-2.0%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-1.2%), Other personal and domestic articles and Books, newspapers magazines and stationery (both with -1.0%), Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (-0.4%) and e Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-0.2%) influenced the overall result of retail. On the other hand, two activities recorded increase in sales against August 2018: Furniture and household appliances (2.0%) and Fabric, apparel and footwear (0.6%).

 Considering extended retail trade, the volume of sales in September fell by 1.5% against that of August 2018, in the seasonally adjusted series, partially making up for the rate of 4.2% registered in the previous month. In this same comparison, Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces was unchanged (-0.1%), whereas Construction material recorded a decrease of 1.7%, both, respectively, after advances of 5.5% and 3.4% observed in the previous month.

In September 2018, against the same month a year before, retail trade was stable (0.1%), with a predominance of positive rates in five of the eight activities. It is worth mentioning that September 2018 had fewer business days (19) than the same month in 2017 (20 days). Among the major activities, some highlights were Other personal and domestic articles (3.9%), followed by Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.4%) and Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (1.9%). Also recording increase against September 2017, were: Fabric, apparel and footwear (1.2%) and Office, computer and communication material and equipment (0.8%). Decreases occurred in Fuels and lubricants (-5.0%), a sector which accounted for the main negative impact, followed by Furniture and household appliances (2.2%) and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-16.5%).

With an increase of 2.2% in comparison with figures of September 2017, extended retail trade recorded the seventh positive rate. The result of September 2018 reflected, mainly,  the  contribution of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (11.0%), whereas Construction material recorded a negative change (-1.6%).

Other articles of personal and domestic use, which encompasses department stores, glasses shops, jewelry shops and sporting goods stores, toy stores, etc., with an increase of 3.9% in volume of sales against September 2017, recorded deceleration in comparison with the result of August (9.5%). Even so, the sector accounted for the main contribution to the overall retal trade figure. The cumulative index in the last 12 months recorded a rate of 6.0%, with a decrease of 0.5 percentage points in relation to the August result. 

Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, with an increase of 0.4% against the result of September 2017, recorded the eighteenth positive rate in a row in this comparison, but faces deceleration in relation to the August figure (5.5%). The segment accounted for the second biggest impact on the formation of the overall retail trade rate. The performance of this activity has been influenced by the stability of the usual real wage bill of salaried persons. The cumulative indicator in the last twelve months, having recorded an increase of 4.4%, faced deceleration of increase, in the series initiated March 2017 (-3.0%).

Pharmaceuticals, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, with an increase of 1.9% in sales against September 2017, also accounted for the main positive contribution to the overall retail trade rate, recording the seventeenth positive rate in a row, in comparison with the same month in the previous year. In terms of cumulative results, having changed from 6.3% up to August to 5.8% up to ASeptember, the sector recorded deceleration of increase. 

Fabric, apparel and footwear, with a change of about 1.2% against the figure in 2017, recorded the second positive rate in a row, in this type of comparison. As a redult, the cumulative indicator in twelve months had its second positive rate in a row in this type of comparison. As a result, the cumulative indicator in 12 months, having changed from 0.7% in August to 0.0%, in September, kept the downward trend initiated in January 2018 (7.7%).

Office, computer and communication material and equipment increased 0.8% in relation to September 2017. The cumulative increase in twelve months (-2.4%) recorded decrease of sales in comparison with August (-2.7%).

Fuels and lubricants, with a decrease of 5.0% in volume of sales in relation to September 2017, accounted for the main negative contribution to the overall result. The rise of fuel prices, above the average, is a relevant factor that affects the performance of the sector. The cumulative index in twelve months has remained negative (-5.2%) since March 2015 (-0.3%).

Furniture and household appliances, with a decrease of 2.2% in volume of sales in relation to September 2017, accounted for the second main negative impact on the formation of the overall retail trade rate in September 2018, after a decrease of 3.1% recorded in August.  The cumulative indicator in the last twelve months, having changed from 3.6% up to August to 2.3% up to September, has decelerated since April (9.6%).

Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery recorded an decrease in volume of sales of -16.5% against September 2017.  The behavior of this activity has been influenced by the continuous replacement of products printed by electronic means and by the closing of shops. As a result, the annualized indicator, cumulative in 12 months, having changed from -8.3% to -8.9%, has remained on a downward trend since March 2014 (-0.2%) which became even more significant than in April 2018 (-5.2%).

Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, having recorded 11.0% in relation to September 2017, recorded the seventeenth positive rate in a row, accounting for the biggest contribution to the result of September for extended retail. The cumulative indicator in 12 months (14.2 %) until September, recorded stability in relation to the cumulative index in 2016 (-17.8%).

Construction material with a decrease of 1.6% in relation to September 2017, decreased once more after a positive result in June (5.6%), July (2.1%) and August (5.9%) in this comparison. The cumulative index in the last twelve months changed from 7.8% in August to 6.3% in September and has remained on a downward trend since April 2018. 

Retail records lowest rate in the last six quarters 

In Q3 2018, the volume of sales of retail trade changed by 1.0%, and has hadpositive results since Q2 2017 (2.4%).The current rate is the lowest one in the last six quarters, against the same quarter a year ago. The decrease of the intensity of sales, from the second (1.6%) to the third quarter (1.0%) of 2018 took place in four of the eight activities, the main hghlights being: Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (from -9.6% to -13.7%), furniture and household appliances (from -0.6% to -4.1%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (from 4.0% to 2.4%) and Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (from 6.3% to 4.9%).

The activites recording increase against the previous quarter were: Já as altas em relação ao trimestre anterior foram: Fabric, apparel and footwear (from -5.3% to -1.7%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (from -1.9% to 0.4%), Fuels and lubricants (from -6.9% to -5.2%), and other personal and domestic articles (from 5.2% to 6.0%). In gterms of extended retail, there was decrease between the second and the third quarters (from 4.7% to 4.0%), with decreases in Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (from 15.1% to 14.5%) and Construction material (from 6.1% to 2.2%).

Retail sales fall in 16 of the 27 Federation Units 

In the seasonally adjusted series, retail trade sales fell by 1.3%, with negative results in 16 of the 27 Federation Units, the man highlights being Paraíba (-6.4%), Minas Gerais (-3.1%) and Goiás (-2.0%). On the other hand, 11 of the 27 Federation Units recorded decreases, the main highlights being, in terms of magnitude of the rate, Rondônia (8,4%), followed by Tocantins (2.9%) and Acre (2.1%). In the same comparison, regarding extended retail trade, the change between August and September was -1.5%, with 8 of the 27 Federation Units recording decrease in the same comparison, the main highlights being Paraíba (-4.9%), Rio de Janeiro (-3.3%) and São Paulo (-1.1%). The highest results, in the seasonally adjusted series were those of Rondônia (6.1%), Acre (4.4%) and Pernambuco (3.5%), whereas Federal District, Bahia and Mato Grosso had stability in this comparison (0.0%).

Against September 2017, the change of national retail trade was 0.1%, with 11 of the 27 Federation Units recording increase, the main highlights being, in terms of relevance: Rondônia (8.1%), Acre (6.6%) and Santa Catarina (6.2%). On the other hand, Piaui (-5.9%), Mato Grosso (-5.1%) and Federal District (-5.0%) recorded decrease. As for the participation in the composition of retail trade rate, the highlights were: Santa Catarina (6.2%), followed by São Paulo (0.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (2.6%).

The extended retail trade increased 2.2% in relation to September 2017, with increases in 17 of the 27 Federation Units. The highlights were Rondônia (15.6%) and Espírito Santo (13.0%). Amapá (-6.9%) had the most significant increase. Regarding the particpation in the composition of extended retail, the highlights were São Paulo (4.5%), Santa Catarina (6.4%), followed by Rio Grande do Sul (3.8 %).