Both rates refer to March 2007, in the seasonally adjusted comparison. In the series without seasonal adjustment, volume of sales had rates of 7.5% over April 2006, 9.2% accumulated in the first four months and 7.3% accumulated in the last twelve months.

Both rates refer to March 2007, in the seasonally adjusted comparison. In the series without seasonal adjustment, volume of sales had rates of 7.5% over April 2006, 9.2% accumulated in the first four months and 7.3% accumulated in the last twelve months.  Nominal revenue increased by 8.2% in relation to April 2006, by 5.0% in the first four months and by 7.7% in terms of the  rate accumulated in the last 12 months.

With changes of 0.4% and 0.8% in April, retail trade had, for the fourth consecutive month, positive results in relation to the previous month. It also kept the upward trend registered by the evolution of the quarterly moving average. Still considering the adjusted series, calculated for four of the eight activities which form the sector, the result for volume of sales was only positive for Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.2%); and - 1.5% for Fuels and lubricants; -1.7% for Textiles, apparel and footwear and -3.6% for Furniture and household appliances. In the same comparison, the subsector of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, which is part of Extended Retail Trade, changed by 0.9%.

In the comparison April 2007/April 2006, all the retail trade activities increased in terms of volume of sales, whose rates, in order of importance to the overall result, were 4.2% for Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco; 13.1% for Furniture and household appliances; 23.5% for Other articles of personal and domestic use; 6.6% for Fuels and lubricants; 8.1% in Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles; 4.3% for Textiles, apparel and footwear; 25.6% for Office material, computer and communication equipment; and 8.6% for Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles.

Being the biggest influence to the overall result, the volume of sales of the subsector Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco  increased by 4.2% in relation to April 2006. It accounted for 32% of the retail trade rate. In accumulated terms, this activity had rates of 6.4% in the first four quarters of the year, and of 7.2% in the last twelve months. This performance reflects the population’s purchasing power, as a consequence of the increase of salary mass. It is important to observe the influence of an base effect over this result, because, in 2006, Easter sales were concentrated in April, whereas this year they were divided between March and April (since Easter’s was in the first week of April).

The activity Furniture and household appliances represented, in April, the second biggest impact on the result of Retail Trade, by registering change of 13.1% in the volume of sales in relation to April 2006. This performance led this activity to account for 24% of the overall retail rate this month. In accumulated terms, the results were 18.5% in the group of four-months and 13.2% in the last twelve months. This result was due to the continuation of favorable credit conditions, real income, employment and prices.

The volume of sales of the activity Other articles of personal and domestic use, the third major impact on the formation of the overall rate, changed by 23.5% in relation to April 2006. Encompassing department stores, glasses shops, jewelry shops, sporting goods stores, etc, this activity has been influenced by the improvement of the general scenario of economy. As a result, it has had accumulated rates of 22.3% and 19.5% for the group of four quarters and for the last 12 months, respectively. It is also worth mentioning the Easter’s effect, since this activity encompasses department stores which sell a big amount of chocolate in this period. 

Being the fourth most significant positive result on the retail result, the activity Fuels and lubricants changed by 6.6% in the comparison April 2007/April 2006; it was the fourth positive result after two consecutive years with falling rates. This result can be seen as a consequence of the stabilization of fuels prices in the last few months, together with the improvement of economy in the country. In terms of accumulated results, changes were 5.3% in the group of four quarters and of -3.7% in the last 12 months.

Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, the fifth most significant contribution to the overall retail rate, had figures of 8.1% in comparison with April 2006, 6.0% accumulated in the four-months and 4.2% in the last twelve months. The increase of salary mass and the diversity of products offered were the basis to support the continuation of the positive performance of the segment. 

The sixth biggest contribution to the overall result came from Textiles, apparel and footwear, whose volume of sales changed by 4.3% in comparison with April 2006. In accumulated terms, there were rates of 6.1% in the first four months and of 2.9% in the last twelve months.

The volume of sales of Office, computer and communication material and equipment, the seventh biggest impact,  increased by 25.6% compared to April last year. The rates accumulated in the first four months and in the last twelve months were 21.6% and 24.0%, respectively. Among the factors which have caused this performance can be highlighted the reduction of prices in this segment and the growing importance of computer and communication goods in the family basket.

Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles represented, once more, the lowest impact on the result of trade by registering increase of 8.6% in volume of sales over April 2006. The increase rates of the indexes accumulated in the group of four-months and in the last 12 months were, respectively, 5.8% and 3.1%, respectively.

Considering Extended Retail Trade¹, the changes observed in relation to the same month in the previous year were 14.9% for volume of sales and 15.1% for nominal revenue of sales. In terms of results accumulated in the quarter and in the last twelve months, the subsector had change rates of 12.6% and 9.2% for volume of sales and 12.2% and 9.4% for nominal revenue of sales, respectively.

With reference to volume of sales, the activity Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces had increase of 33.9% in relation to April 2006. In relation to the index accumulated in four-months, the rate was 21.3%, and in the last twelve months, it was 13.8%. The significant reduction of the interest rate and the expansion of the period for installment paying have contributed to the increase of sales this year. With reference to Construction material, the changes were: 11.0% in the month, in relation to April 2006; 7.2% accumulated in the first four months of the year, and 8.1% accumulated in the last twelve months. The results reflect the favorable conditions of economy, as well as the official measures of incentive to construction.

Alagoas has the highest increase of volume of sales

Among the twenty-seven Federative Units, only two had negative results in the comparison April 2007/April 2006: Roraima (-1.0%) and Goiás (-0.2%). The highlights with the main positive changes were: Alagoas (26.7%); Tocantins (19.5%); Maranhão (15.8%); Ceará (14.4%); Mato Grosso do Sul (13.9%). Considering the participation in the rate of Retail Trade, the highlights, in order, were: São Paulo (10.7%); Minas Gerais (5.7%); Rio de Janeiro (4.0%); Paraná (5.0%) and Santa Catarina (6.4%).

Still considering the Federative Units, the seasonally adjusted results for volume of sales show, in the month/previous month comparison, there were negative changes in fifteen states and positive ones in twelve states. The main increases occurred in Paraná (4.5%); Mato Grosso do Sul (2.4%); Pará (2.3%) and Piauí (2.3%). The biggest decreases were those in Rio Grande do Norte (-4.8%); Amapá (-4.2%); Amazonas (-3.8%) and Roraima (-3.5%).

In relation to Extended Retail Trade, the highest performance rates in terms of volume of sales were those in Rondônia (58.0%); Acre (42.5%); Amapá (36.9%); Tocantins (36.0%) and Alagoas (31.1%). In terms of impact on the overall result of the sector, the highlights were São Paulo (16.8%); Minas Gerais (11.7%); Rio de Janeiro (7.8%); Paraná (14.0%) and Santa Catarina (14.5%).

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¹Extended Retail Trade is formed by Retail Trade and the activites Vehicles, Motorcycles, Parts and Pieces and Construction Material.