In October, retail sales in Brazil increased by 0.4% compared to the previous month, when they increased by 0.6%. In 2024, retail sales have accumulated an increase of 5.0%. The quarterly moving average, after a change of 0.3% in September, changed again by 0.3% in the quarter ended in October. The cumulative average over the last 12 months was 4.4%, the 25th consecutive month of positive indicators. Data are from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (12) by the IBGE

In extended retail trade, which includes, in addition to retail, the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, Construction material and Specialized wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco, the sales volume grew by 0.9% from September to October. Compared to October 2023, there was an expansion of 8.8%, the tenth consecutive positive result (the last month to show a negative change was December 2024: -0.1%). The quarterly moving average of extended retail rose 0.8% in the quarter ended in October.

As for the activities, six of the eight ones showed positive results: Furniture and household appliances (7.5%), Office, computer and communication equipment and materials (2.7%), Textiles, clothing and footwear (1.7%), Fuels and lubricants (1.3%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.3%) and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (0.3%). On the other hand, between September and October 2024, two of the eight groups surveyed showed a decline: Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (-1.1%) and Other personal and household articles (-1.5%).

“The October result, despite representing stability in relation to September, marks a positive trend for Brazilian retail throughout 2024. Of the ten months recorded so far, only June recorded an effective decline (-0.9%). In the others, there was either growth or stability. This scenario, in fact, has been renewing the time record level of the series, indicating a recovery in national trade. This is the third time this year that the record has been renewed”, explains Cristiano Santos, manager of the survey.

“The Furniture and houosehold appliances sector was the one that had the highest increase in October, reflecting the two previous months of decline. Throughout the year, the segment has shown high volatility, with a greater amplitude of both increases and decreases, sharper than that of the other sectors”, adds Mr. Santos. He points out that, in October, the high stock reached in the previous months led some of the large chain stores to go on clearance.

Sales increase by 6.5% compared to October 2023

Retail sales increased by 6.5% compared to October 2023. In October 2024, compared to the same month of the previous year, seven of the eight activities surveyed showed positive results: Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (16.1%), Furniture and household appliances (9.9%), Textiles, clothing and footwear (7.9%), Office, computer and communication equipment and materials (6.3%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (5.6%), Other personal and household articles (4.7%) and Fuels and lubricants (2.2%). Only Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery remained negative (-9.3%).

The Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles group (16.1%) recorded its 20th consecutive month of growth (the last month to record a decline was February 2023: -0.5%). The sector had the second largest contribution to the formation of the retail rate, adding 1.6 pp to the total of 6.5%. “From an annual perspective, the pharmaceutical sector continues to be the best performing, not only for pharmaceutical products, but also for personal hygiene and beauty products. For this indicator, every month of 2024, with the exception of January, recorded double-digit growth”, observes Mr. Santos.

The Furniture and household appliances activity (9.9%), in turn, advanced after the negative result recorded in September (-0.2%), compared to the same period of the previous year. In the cumulative indicator for the year, there was a gain of 3.9%, that is, 0.6 pp above that recorded up to September (3.3%). For the last twelve months, up to October, the result was 3.6% (16th consecutive month with a positive result).

As for extended retail trade, there was an 8.8% expansion in sales compared to October 2023, the tenth consecutive month to record positive rates. The last negative change recorded was in December 2023 (-0.1%). The result is positive both in the year (4.9%) and in the last 12 months (4.3%). There were increases in two of the three complementary activities: Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (27.4%) and Construction materials (12.2%). The only sector to show a drop in sales was Wholesale specialized in food products, beverages and tobacco (-5.8%).

In relation to September, 19 Federation Units have increased sales

When comparing the results of October and September 2024, 19 states had positive performance, with a highlight to Roraima (4.3%), Espírito Santo (3.1%) and Mato Grosso (2.1%). Among the eight states with negative results, Amazonas (-3.0%), Piauí (-1.1%) and Amapá (-1.0%) stood out.

In extended retail trade, there were positive results in 22 of the 27 Federation Units, with Tocantins (4.6%), Roraima (4.4%) and Rondônia (3.6%) being worth mentioning. Goiás (-0.9%), Paraíba (-0.9%) and Paraná (-0.9%), however, drew attention to the negative side.

More about the survey

The PMC produces indicators that allow monitoring the current behavior of retail trade in the country, investigating gross revenue from resale in formally constituted companies, with 20 or more employees, and whose main activity is retail trade. Launched in 1995, the PMC provides monthly results on the change in volume and nominal sales revenue for retail trade and extended retail trade (cars and construction materials) for Brazil and its Federation Units. The results can be found on Sidra. The next release of the PMC, with the results for November 2024, will be on January 9, 2025.