Monthly Survey of Trade
Retail grows 0.8% in March and reaches the highest level in the series
May 15, 2025 09h00 AM | Last Updated: May 16, 2025 01h27 PM
From February to March, retail trade sales in the country increased by 0.8% and reached the highest level in the time series intiated January 2000, surpassing the previous record reached in February 2025. It is the third positive rate in a row, leading to the index of the quarterly moving average to 0.6%, after an increase of 0.3% in the quarter ended February. Data comes from the Monthly Survey of Trade (PMC), released today (15) by the IBGE.
“Last month, a highlight was the distributed widespread profile of intersectoral growth. Six activities recorded increases, including those with the highest weight, such as pharmaceuticals and hypermarkets and supermarkets. The previous months showed a return of hypermarkets and supermarkets as protagonists, especially in February, with a 1.2% increase,” Cristiano Santos, manager of the Monthly Survey of Trade, explains.
Six of the eight activities surveyed advanced in March this year. Among them, the highlights were Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (28.2%) and Office, computer and communication equipment and material (3.0%).
“The activity Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery has recorded significant increase in the months of February in recent years, mainly due to sales of textbooks. In 2025, this positive performance did not take place in February, but in March, due to changes in the school calendar and at the moment of signing new contracts,” contextualizes the IBGE analyst.
The manager of PMC also explains the movements in the activity of Office, computer and communication equipment and material, another positive highlight in the month: “The activity is influenced by the dollar, due to imported electronic products. Due to the dollar appreciation in the beginning of the year, companies have been waiting for a good opportunity to renew their stocks, causing high volatility in the volume indicator, with a strong increase in January, a similar drop in February and subsequent increase in March,” remarks the manager of PMC.
The other positive results in March came from Other personal and household articles (1.5%), Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles and toiletries (1.2%), Fabric, apparel and footwear (1.2%) and Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.4%).
On the other hand, between February and March 2025, two of the eight groups surveyed had negative results: Furniture and household appliances (-0.4%) and Fuels and lubricants (-2.1%).
“Fuels and lubricants had two positive results in January and February. In March, there was a reversal of this increase, which also reflects a lower demand for fuels in that month,” Cristiano analyzes.
Extended retail trade increased by 1.9% against the previous month, after a change of -0.2% in February 2025. Construction materials registered 0.6% between February and March, and Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces, 1.7%.
Five retail activities declined compared to March last year
Against March 2024, volume of retail trade sales fell by 1.0%, with decreases in five of the eight activities surveyed: Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-6.9%), Other personal and household articles (-6.3%), Office, computer and communication equipment and material (-2.1%), Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-1.4%) and Fuels and lubricants (-0.8%).
Cristiano explains the decline in Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery, despite the increase of 28.2% from the previous month. “The time series of this sector is one of almost constant decline. The activity has undergone structural changes that are reflected in the loss of representativeness of sales of physical products, such as books, which is what this sector reflects in the survey. Thus, throughout 2024, there were cumulative drops, and that places the March 2025 base below that of March 2024, even with the apparent recovery on the margin,” the manager contextualizes.
Three sectors recorded increases in the year-on-year comparison: Furniture and household appliances (3.3%), Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles and toiletries (2.1%) and Fabric, apparel and footwear (1.4%).
In extended retail, in this comparison, the 1.2% drop was followed by Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (-2.2%) and Wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco (-3.6%). Construction material, in turn, increased by 5.2% in this same comparison.
More about the survey
The PMC produces indicators that allow monitoring the current behavior of retail trade in the country, investigating gross sale revenue 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 expanded retail trade (motor vehicles and construction materials) for Brazil and the Federation Units. The results can be consulted on Sidra. The next release of the PMC, with the results for April 2025, will be on May 12.
