After two years, trade grows again driven by furniture and household appliances
February 09, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: February 09, 2018 10h39 AM
The retail closed 2017 with a 2.0% increase compared to 2016. It is the first positive result since 2014, when a growth of 2.2% was recorded. In 2015 and 2016, sales fell respectively by -4.3% and -6.2%. In comparison with November, December showed a decline of 1.5% and compared to December 2016, it had a growth of 3.3%. The data are from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today by IBGE.
With a growth of 9.5% compared to 2016, the furniture and household appliances sector was the greatest contributor to the annual balance. According to research manager Isabella Nunes, the result was stimulated by the reduction of the interest rate in 2017. "With sales dynamics associated with greater availability of credit, the sector recovered after three years in decline," she says.
The researcher also attributes the positive result to the recovery of hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, which grew 1.4% in the year. "The good result in this category was influenced mainly by the systematic reduction of prices and the recomposition of the wagebill," she explains.
The annual performance, however, was affected by falls in fuels and lubricants (-3.3%), books, magazines and stationery (-4.2%) and office, computer and communication equipment (-3.1% ).
Despite the advance, Isabella says it's too early to talk about full recovery. "2017 breaks a two-year period of decline in domestic sales, but it is still far from recovering the 10.2% loss accumulated in that period," she ponders.
