Between March and April, retail sales in the country grew 0.9%, reaching the highest level in the series. This was the fourth positive result in a row for the sector, which accumulated an increase of 4.9% in the year and 2.7% in the last 12 months. The data comes from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (13) by the IBGE.

“This behavior of four non-negative points in a row also happened last year, between June and September, but with a smaller span. This year, retail came with more expressive results and, in the last three months, it has reached the last record in the seasonally adjusted series, which had been in October/November 2021”, explains Cristiano Santos, survey manager.

Of the eight activities surveyed, five advanced in April, with highlights to hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (1.5%) and equipment and material for office, IT and communication (14.2%), which had the main influences on the overall result.

“In the case of office, IT and communication equipment and supplies, this large change means a certain rebound from the previous month, when there was a drop of 10.1%, due to the strong growth of the dollar. In April, some big brands gave discounts on products and, despite the stability of the dollar, the sector managed to recover”, says the researcher. In the year, activity accumulates an increase of 3.5%.

The increase in sales in the hypermarket, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco sector (1.5%), which accounts for 55.2% of the general index, came after two consecutive negative changes (-0.2% in March and -0.1% in February). “This activity did not grow in the previous two months, with results close to zero, and this stability, with a slightly lower base, explains the growth in April”, points out the manager.

The furniture and household appliances sector (2.4%) returned to positive after falling 1.9% in March. “In April, the trajectory was different for the two sub-activities: while household appliances remained stable, trending downwards, furniture grew, which brought the sector to the positive side”, analyzes Mr. Santos.

He explains that the result of this segment is related to an unfavorable period for sales last year. “In 2023, especially in the second half of the year, some sectors had very bad results for large chains, with subsequent store closures. At the beginning of this year, we can see recovery in these activities, including the opening of new local branches”, he highlights.

In the case of the fuels and lubricants segment (2.2%), the April result is the first increase of the year. “In this activity, there was behavior similar to that of hypermarkets and supermarkets. In January, we observed a result close to zero, followed by two drops. This low comparison base provided an opportunity for growth in the period from March to April”, says Mr. Santos.

Another activity whose sales increased in April was pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (0.6%). The result marks the third consecutive increase in this segment, which accumulates a gain of 13.8% in the year.

On the other hand, the activities of books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-0.4%) and textile, apparel and footwear (-0.7%) were negative in the month. For the sector of other personal and houshelod articles (0.0%), the scenario was stable. This segment includes, for example, department stores, opticians and jewelry stores.

In extended retail trade, which includes, in addition to retail activities, vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, construction materials and wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco, there was a drop of 1.0%.

Sales increase 2.2% compared to April 2023

Retail sales increased 2.2% compared to April last year. The growth was spread across six of the eight sectors: pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (18.9%), office, IT and communication equipment and supplies (16.1%), furniture and household appliances (8.0%), other personal and household articles (4.6%), books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (2.4%) and fuels and lubricants (1.8%).

Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, drinks and tobacco (-1.3%) had a negative result in this indicator for the first time since July 2022 (-0.3%). The textile, apparel and footwear sector (-1.5%) also declined in this comparison.

Two extended retail activities recorded growth in sales: vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (28.8%) and construction material (16.3%). As for the other additional sector, wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco, there was a drop of 13.0%.

Sales grow in 18 Federation Units compared to March

With an increase of 0.9% in retail sales volume compared to the previous month, 18 Federation Units registered an increase. The biggest changes were in Rondônia (5.1%), Roraima (4.5%) and Amapá (3.7%). Among the nine negative ones, the highlights were Maranhão (-1.4%), Bahia (-1.2%) and Paraíba (-1.1%).

For extended retail trade, in this same comparison, the positive results came from 16 Federation Units. Goiás (8.2%), Roraima (7.3%) and Amapá (5.2%) had the biggest changes. On the negative sphere, the highlights were São Paulo (-4.1%), Maranhão (-3.7%) and Tocantins (-3.0%).

More about the survey

The PMC produces indicators that allow monitoring the current behavior of retail trade in the country, investigating the gross revenue from resale in formally constituted companies, with 20 or more employed persons, and whose main activity is retail trade. Started in 1995, the PMC brings monthly results of the change in volume and nominal sales revenue for retail trade and expanded retail trade (automobiles and construction materials) for Brazil and Federation Units. The results can be consulted on the Sidra database. The next release of the PMC, with the results for May 2024, will be on July 11th.