The volume of retail trade sales in Brazil increased 0.5% in March from February, in the seasonally adjusted series. With this performance, the sector hits a new record in the time series initiated in 2000 after the figure reached last month. Data comes from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (13) by the IBGE.

This is the third consecutive increase, pointing to an expansionary outlook, according to Cristiano Santos, manager of PMC: “From a slightly longer, medium-term perspective, in the last six months there was only one negative result, in December 2025. And even then, the result was very close to zero (-0.3%). So, it can be said that since October 2025, retail has been growing most of the time.”

Sales grew in five of the eight activities surveyed: Office, computer and communication equipment and material (5.7%), Fuels and lubricants (2.9%), Other personal and household articles (2.9%), Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (0.7%) and Pharmaceuticals, medical, orthopedic articles and toiletries (0.1%) showed positive results. Cristiano Santos notes that, in the activity of equipment for office, IT and communication, most products are imported, such as cell phones and televisions. "The costs of this activity are closely related to fluctuations in the dollar, and over the last three months we have observed the appreciation of the real against the US dollar.

With negative results, two sectors showed declines: Furniture and household appliances (-0.9%), driven by falls in the furniture sector, and Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-1.4%), which in March showed the sector's biggest drop since June 2024, when it reached -3.0%. The Fabric, wearing apparel and footwear remained stable (0.0%) compared to February.

Against March 2025, increase occurred in all surveyed activities

In a comparison between March 2026 and the same month of the previous year, retail trade grew by 4.0%. All eight surveyed activities showed growth: Office, computer and communication equipment and material (22.5%), Other personal and household articles (11.1%), Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (10.2%), Fuels and lubricants (7.6%), Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic articles and cosmetics (7.1%), Furniture and household appliances (6.8%), Fabric, wearing apparel and footwear (2.9%) and Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.9%).

The significant increase in Office, computer and communication equipment and material (22.5%) is the second largest in the sector since the second half of 2021, surpassed only by December 2025 (31.1% in December 2025).

In terms of contribution to the overall index, the main influences came from Other personal and household articles, which includes department stores, glasses shops, jewelers, sporting goods stores, toys, etc., and Fuels and lubricants, both contributing 0.9 percentage points to the total of 4.0% of retail sales. 

Retail trade records positive increase in Federation Units 

Compared to February, in the seasonally adjusted series, retail trade showed positive results in 19 of the 27 Federative Units, with Maranhão (3.8%), Amazonas (3.7%), and Piauí (3.5%) standing out. On the other hand, seven of the 27 Federation Units showed negative results, notably Bahia (-2.2%), Pernambuco (-2.0%), and São Paulo (-1.0%). Paraíba showed stability (0.0%). 

In the same comparison, in the expanded retail trade, the variation between January and February 2026 showed positive results in 17 of the 27 Federative Units, with Amazonas (8.4%), Roraima (5.6%), and Paraná (4.0%) standing out. On the other hand, 10 of the 27 Federative Units showed negative results, notably Pernambuco (-2.1%), Mato Grosso do Sul (-1.2%), and Bahia (-1.0%).

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