In November 2024, retail sales in Brazil fell by 0.4% compared to the previous month, when they rose by 0.4%. Retail sales have accumulated a 5.0% increase over the year. The quarterly moving average, which was 0.3% in October, rose by 0.2% in the quarter ended in November. The cumulative average over the last 12 months was 4.6%, the 26th consecutive month in which this indicator has been positive. The data is from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (9) by the IBGE.

In extended retail sales, which includes, in addition to retail, the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, Construction materials and Specialized wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco, the volume of sales fell by 1.8% from October to November. The quarterly moving average for extended retail sales remained stable (0.0%) in the quarter ending in November, after registering 0.4% in October.

Regarding the activities, five of the eight presented negative results: Furniture and household appliances (-2.8%), Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic articles and toiletries (-2.2%), Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-1.5%), Other personal and household articles (-1.0%) and Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.1%). On the other hand, between October and November 2024, three groups surveyed showed an increase: Office, computer and communication equipment and materials (3.5%), Fuels and lubricants (1.5%) and Textiles, apparel and footwear (1.4%).

“The result for November represents stability for the second consecutive month, but very close to the historical record registered in October (0.4%). It is worth noting that, of the last five months, the positive results for July (0.6%) and September (0.6%) were the only ones to present a change outside the range of -0.5% to +0.5%. Even with this stable scenario, it is interesting to note that the cumulative indicator for the year (5.0%) is quite significant when compared to previous years”, explains Cristiano Santos, manager of the survey.

“The Furniture and household appliances sector was the one that had the biggest drop in November. In the last four months, the activity had three drops (-1.8% in August, -3.7% in September and -2.8% in November) and one increase (7.8% in October). This increase recorded in October, however, was very intense, and was linked to the anticipation of Black Friday deals”, adds Mr. Santos.

Sales increase by 4.7% compared to November 2023

Retail sales increased by 4.7% compared to November 2023. In November 2024, compared to the same month of the previous year, five of the eight activities surveyed showed positive results: Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic articles and toiletries (10.2%), Textiles, apparel and footwear (8.0%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (5.4%), Other personal and household articles (3.4%) and Fuels and lubricants (1.7%). Among the negative results were Office, computer and communication equipment and material (-4.4%) and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-10.6%). The Furniture and household appliances sector, in turn, showed stability (0.0%).

The group of pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic articles and toiletries (10.2%) recorded its 21st consecutive month of growth (the last month to record a decline had been February 2023: -0.5%). The sector had the second largest contribution to the formation of the retail rate, adding 1.0 pp to the total of 4.7%. “The pharmaceutical sector, in the year-on-year comparison, had a very strong result and stood out in terms of change and influence. Despite the significant growth, the increase ended up being lower than in recent months. From June to October, the sector had been showing expansion of over 15%, evidencing a reduction in the growth rate in November”, observes Mr. Santos.

The Textiles, apparel and footwear activity (8.0%) also saw sales growth compared to November 2023, the seventh consecutive non-negative result (2.0% in May, 0.0% in June, 5.6% in July, 5.8% in August, 3.5% in September and 7.9% in October). The results were negative, when compared to the same month of the previous year, in only three of the 11 months recorded in 2024: February (-0.5%), March (-0.9%) and April (-3.7%).

As for extended retail trade, there was a 2.1% expansion in sales compared to November 2023, the eighth consecutive month to record positive rates. The last negative change recorded was in March 2024 (-1.4%). The result is positive both in the year (4.4%) and in the last 12 months (4.0%). There were increases in two of the three complementary activities: Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (4.5%) and Construction material (3.2%). The only sector to show a drop in sales was Wholesale specialized in food products, beverages and tobacco (-11.7%).

In relation to October, 17 Federation Units had a drop in sales

When comparing the results of November and October 2024, it is noted that 17 Federation Units had a negative performance, with Rio de Janeiro (-5.7%), Paraíba (-4.3%) and Goiás (-2.7%) standing out. Among the ten Federation Units with positive results, Espírito Santo (4.1%), Acre (1.3%) and Mato Grosso (1.2%) stood out.

In extended retail trade, there were negative results in 21 of the 27 Federation Units, with Bahia (-5.5%), Rio de Janeiro (-4.9%) and Sergipe (-4.4%) being worth mentioning. However, Mato Grosso (2.3%), Amapá (1.2%) and Espírito Santo (0.9%) stood out among the six states with positive performance.

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 (automobiles and construction materials) for Brazil and its Federation Units. The results can be found at Sidra. The next release of the PMC, with the results for December 2024, will be on February 13.