In July, the volume of sales of retail trade interrupted a series of four months with increasing results, presenting a negative rate of -0.2%.

In July, the volume of sales of retail trade interrupted a series of four months with increasing results, presenting a negative rate of -0.2%. Nominal revenue keeps a sequence of positive rates, with 0.5% of increase. In the other comparisons, the volume of sales increased 11.0% compared to July 2007, 10.6% in terms of the index accumulated in the year and 10.2% in the index accumulated in the last 12 months. In the same comparisons, nominal revenue of sales had change rates of 18.5%, 16.3% and 15.0%. In the seasonally adjusted series, four of the ten activities surveyed faced decrease in sales: Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.2%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-0.5%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-1.7%) and Textiles, apparel and footwear (-3.0%). In the series without adjustment, the rates of ten sectors increased: Furniture and household appliances (19.6%) accounted for the most relevant contribution to the overall rate and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (10.1%), for the least significant one.

In July 2008, retail trade for the country was -0.2% in terms of volume of sales and 0.5% in terms of nominal revenue, in the seasonally adjusted series.  Six of the ten activities surveyed had positive rates: Other articles of personal and domestic use (3.9%); Construction material (2.2%); Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, (1.8%); Furniture and household appliances (1,3%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles and cosmetics (1.2%); and Fuels and lubricants (0.4%). Negative rates were observed in Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.2%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-0.5%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-1.7%) and

Textiles, apparel and footwear (-3.0%).

In the July 2008/July 2007 comparison (series without adjustment), all the retail activities had increase of volume of sales: Furniture and household appliances (19.6%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (5.4%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (21.3%); Fuels and lubricants (15.0%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (15.1%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (8.4%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (20.6%); and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (10.1%).

The activity Furniture and household appliances, with increase of 19.6% in volume of sales in relation to July last year, accounted, for the second consecutive month, for the main impact on the formation of the performance rate of Retail Trade, being responsible for 28% of the rate. In terms of the index accumulated in the year, the rate was 18.6% and, in the last 12 months, 16.6%. These results are not only positive, but above the average of the retail sector, and can be seen as a consequence of the expansion of credit, of the improvement of salary volume of the employed population and of the prices reduction of electronic items.

The subsector Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, with change of 5.4% in the volume of sales in July, accounted for the second major contribution to the overall rate of retail (24%) compared to the same month in the previous year. This result, below the average, may be reflecting the effect of inflation on the consumption of food products. The indexes accumulated in the first seven months of the year and in the last 12 months were 5.8% and 6.0%, respectively.  

The activity Other articles of personal and domestic use, which encompasses segments such as department stores, glasses shops, jewelry shops, sporting goods stores, toy stores, etc, accounted for the main impact on the formation of retail rate, with change of 21.3% in volume of sales compared to July 2007, and accounting for 15% of the overall rate. This result shows that the activity is still affected by the positive scenario of economy as a whole. The rate for the first seven months of the year and for the last 12 months was 21.5% in both comparisons.

The fourth major contribution to the overall result of retail trade, in July, was that of the subsector Fuels and lubricants, with 15% of change in volume of sales compared to July 2007, and accounting for 14.5% of the overall rate. In terms of figures accumulated in the year, the change rate reached 9.2%, and in the last 12 months, 7.3%. This behavior may have resulted from  the stability of fuel prices, associated to the improvement of economic situation of the country.  

The activity Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, the fifth major contribution to the overall retail rate, increased 15.1% compared to July last year, and had accumulated rates of 13.1%, in the year, and of 12.2% in the last 12 months. The favorable economic conditions, mainly concerning the behavior of credit and the salary mass, and also the increase of sales of generic products, are the main factors accounting for the positive performance of this subsector, mainly in terms.

The subsector Textiles, apparel and footwear, which had increase of volume of sales by 8.4%, compared to that in the previous month, accounted for the sixth main contribution to the overall retail rate. This result is mainly due to the stability of sales of the segment, which was stimulated by the expectation for a new spring-summer fashion collection. In terms of accumulated results, the rate was 11.1%, both for the first seven months of the year and for the last 12 months.

The subsector Office, computer and communication material and equipment, responsible for the seventh major impact on the formation of the overall rate, had increase of 20.6% in volume of sales in July, compared to the same month in the previous year, with accumulated rates of 29.2% in the year and of 32.1% in the last 12 months. It is the activity with the highest level of increase of accumulated indicators. Among the factors which have caused this performance, it is worth mentioning the fall of prices of this type of product, together with financing benefits and the growing importance of computer science and communication products in the consumption habits of families.

The activity Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles, with increase of 10.1%, accounted, once more, for the lowest contribution to the retail trade rate. The indicator accumulated in the year changed by 11.3% and the indicator accumulated in the last 12 months, by 9.9%. These results area related to the overall improvement of economy and from the diversification of products, that is, the distribution of CDs and DVDs, as well as of computer-related material and other items by big newsstands and bookshops.  

Compared to the previous month, extended retail trade increased by 1.0% in terms of volume of sales and by 1.8% for nominal trade; both rates were seasonally adjusted. In comparison with the same month in the previous year (without seasonal adjustment), the changes were 16.5% for volume of sales and 23.2% for nominal revenue. Considering the indexes accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months, the sector had change rates of 14.6% and 14.2% for volume of sales and of 19.7% and 18.4% for nominal revenue of sales, respectively.

The activity Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces had increase of 26.0% in volume of sales, compared to July 2007, and accumulated increase rates of 22.9% in the year and 22.6% in the last 12 months. With this month’s result, the activity remains accounting for the main contribution to the overall rate of extended retail (52%). The reduction of interest rates and the extended financing periods, as well as positive prospects concerning the continuation of employment, have become the main factors behind the increase of sales of this subsector.

In terms of Construction material, the changes were 19.3% in the July2008/July2007 comparison; 12.5% accumulated in the year and 12.4% in the last 12 months. This performance is a consequence of the favorable economic scenario, associated with official measures aimed at encouraging construction in the country.

RESULTS BY AREA

All the twenty-seven Federative Units had positive results in the July 08/July 07 comparison, being the most significant positive rates those of Goiás (19,2%); Rondônia (17,9%);  Mato Grosso do Sul (17,2%); Mato Grosso (17,0%)  e Paraíba  (15,0%). In terms of contribution to the overall rate of Retail Trade, the highlights were, in order, São Paulo (13.2%); Rio de Janeiro (9.9%); Minas Gerais (10.1%); Rio Grande do Sul (8.5%) and Bahia (9.9%).

In relation to extended retail trade, the highest performance rates in volume of sales were those of Espírito Santo (30.5%); Goiás (29.6%); Rondônia (27.3%); Mato Grosso (25.1%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (23.4%). In terms of impact on the overall result of the sector, the highlights were the states of São Paulo (17.7%); Minas Gerais (16.2%); Rio de Janeiro (12.4%); Rio Grande do Sul (16.3%) and Paraná (14.9%). The seasonally adjusted results for volume of sales by Federative Units point to the existence of seventeen states with positive changes, in the month/previous month comparison, being the highlights: Paraíba (7.8%); Acre (6.0%); Alagoas (4.7%); Mato Grosso (3.1%); Tocantins (2.1%) and Sergipe (2.0%).