In September, the country’s retail trade recorded, in relation to the previous month (in the seasonally adjusted series), a growth of 0.4% for the volume of sales and of 0.9% for the nominal revenue.

As a result, the sector completes five consecutive months of positive rates, in the volume of sales, and nine months for the sales nominal revenue. In the other comparisons, obtained from the unadjusted original series, the national retail trade recorded, as to the volume of sales, increases of 11.8% against September of the previous year and of 11.4% and 10.7% in the accumulated indicator of the first nine months of the year and of the last 12 months, respectively. For the same indicators, the nominal revenue of sales changed 15.2%, 14.4% and 13.7%.

Volume of sales grows in four of the ten surveyed activities

For the seasonally adjusted volume of sales, the results point to the fact that four of the ten activities obtained positive changes:

office material and equipment, computer and communication (5.6%); other articles of personal and domestic use (2.8%); furniture and house appliances (1.1%) and fuels and lubricants (1.0%). The negative changes were from hyper, supermarkets, food, beverages and tobacco (-0.1%); fabrics, apparel and footwear (-0.2%); construction material (-0.2%); books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-0.7%); vehicles, motorcycles and parts (-0.8%); and pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (-1.2%).

In the comparison with September of 2009, in the seasonally adjusted series, all the eight activities of the retail trade recorded increases in the volume of sales. The rates, by order of contribution to the overall result, were:

hyper, supermarkets, food, beverages and tobacco (9.7%); furniture and appliances (14.4%); other articles of personal and domestic use (15.8%); fuels and lubricants (10.3%); fabrics, apparel and footwear (12.6%); pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (11.6%); office material and equipment, computer and communication (28.5%); and books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (9.7%).

The sector of hyper, supermarkets, food, beverages and tobacco, with a change of 9.7% in the volume of sales in September, against the same month a year ago, was the main contributor to the overall retail rate.

This result is due to the increase in the purchase power of the population, which, in turn, resulted from the rise in the employed persons’ usually-earned real income volume (10.1% against September of 2009, according to PME). The results of the activity as to the accumulated indicators in the nine first months of the year and in the last 12 months were 10.0%.

The activity of furniture and house appliances, with an increase of 14.4% in the volume of sales in relation to September of last year, was the second main contributor to the retail trade performance rate .

The motivating factors for that were the credit expansion policy and the growth in the real volume of wages. In the accumulated index of the year, the activity registered a change rate of 18.4%, and in the last 12 months, of 16.1%.

The activity of other articles of personal and domestic use, which encompasses department, optical, jewelry, sport article, toy stores etc., was the third main contributor to the retail rate, with a change of 15.8% in the volume of sales in relation to September of 2009. The favorable conditions as to the behavior of the volume of wages and credit recovery are the main factors leading to the positive performance of this sector. In the accumulated indexes, the rate for the first nine months of the year was 8.5%, and for the last 12 months, 8.3%.

The sector of fuels and lubricants, with a change of 10.3% in the volume of sales in relation to September of 2009, was the fourth contributor to the overall retail rate.

In the accumulated index in the year, the activity registered a change rate of 6.8%, and in the last 12 months, of 5.9%. That performance was due to the stability of the fuel prices (1.9% against 4.7% of the overall index, in 12 months, according to IPCA) and the improvement in the economic conjuncture, leading to a rise in the fleet of circulating motor vehicles . The sector of fabrics, apparel and footwear, with a rise of 12.6% in the volume of sales, was the fifth contributor to the overall retail rate. In the accumulated indexes, the results for the first nine months of the year were 11.0% and, for the last 12 months, 9.2%. The activity keeps its upward trajectory despite the increase in prices of the sector: 5.9% of change for apparel, against increases of 4.7% in the overall index in the accumulated indicator of the last 12 months, according to IPCA.

The activity of pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, with the sixth highest contribution to the overall retail rate, recorded a growth of 11.6% compared with September of last year, and accumulated rates of 11.7% in the year and of 11.6% for the last 12 months.

That result shows that the activity also continues to be influenced by the movement of credit and of the real volume of wages, as well as by the fact that those products are essential.

The sector of office material and equipment, computer and communication, responsible for the seventh highest contribution to the overall rate, increased in the volume of sales, in September, by 28.5%, against the same month of the previous year, and recorded accumulated rates in the year of 25.3% and, in the 12 last months, of 20.4%.

The drop in the prices of the products in this sector, mainly of microcomputers (-6.6% in the last 12 months, measured by IPCA), explains such changes.

The activity of books, newspapers, magazines and stationery, with a growth of 9.7%, continued as the smallest contribution to the retail result. The accumulated rate in the year was 8.8% and, for the last 12 months, 9.1%. Those results are due to the improvement in income.

Still concerning the Federation Units, the seasonally adjusted results for the volume of sales point to twenty one states with positive changes compared with the immediately previous month. The highlights were: Roraima (12.0%); Tocantins (3.9%); Acre (3.7%); Maranhão (2.7%) and Rio de Janeiro (2.7%).

In the quarter, increase of 11.1% 

The result of 11.1% of the Retail Trade in the third quarter of 2010 was above the one observed in the second quarter (10.3%), but below the rate of the first quarter (12.8%). Comparing the rates of the second with the third quarters of 2010, we observe the following behaviors by activity: highs for other articles of personal and domestic use (from 5.9% to 13.2%); fuels and lubricants (from 5.7% to 9.1%); books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (from 7.8% to 10.3%); fabrics, apparel and footwear (from 10.6% to 12.8%); office material and equipment, computer and communication (from 22.42% to 24.4%) and hyper, supermarkets, food, beverages and tobacco, changing from 8.5% to 9.3%. As for the reductions in the rates: furniture and house appliances (from 19.6% to 14.4%) and pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (from 11.2% to 10.7%). 

In terms of Extended Retail Trade, the change rate of the third quarter, 10.8%, surpassed the one of the second quarter of the year (8.2%), influenced by the behaviors of the activities described above, as well as by the rates of vehicles, motorcycles and parts, which changed from 3.3% to 9.1%, and of construction material, from 16.8% to 17.3%.

The Extended Retail Trade recorded changes of –0.9% for the volume of sales and of –0.7% for the nominal revenue in relation to the previous month; both rates are seasonally adjusted. Compared with the same month of a year ago (seasonally unadjusted), changes were of 5.9% for the volume of sales and of 9.2% for the nominal revenue. In the accumulated indicators of the year and of the last 12 months, the sector presented a change rate of 11.4% and of 12.0%, respectively, for the volume of sales; and of 14,1% for both accumulated indexes as to the nominal revenue. 

The activity of vehicles, motorcycles and parts recorded a drop of –4.0%, in the volume of sales, in relation to September of 2009, accumulating in the year and in the last twelve months changes of 10.7% and 14.4%, respectively. This negative change reflects accommodation, since the sector has been recording, in the last months, high rates of growth.

As for construction material, changes were of 16.8% in relation to September of 2009, of 16.4% in the accumulated indicator of the year and of 12.5% in the last 12 months. The official incentive measures to civil construction and the increase in income explain the positive results in the volume of sales of this activity.

All the Federation Units recorded increases compared with September of 2009

All the Federation Units had positive results compared with September of 2009. The most relevant rates were: Tocantins (76.8%); Roraima (46.4%); Paraíba (28.5%); Rondônia (28.2%) and Maranhão (24.1%). Concerning the contribution to the rate of the Retail Trade, the highlights were, by order, São Paulo (10.7%); Rio de Janeiro (13.0%); Minas Gerais (12.8%); Rio Grande do Sul (13.6%) and Paraná (11.5%).

As for the extended retail trade, the highest rates of performance in the volume of sales occurred in Tocantins (37.2%); Roraima (36.2%); Rondônia (24.1%); Mato Grosso (14.9%) and Paraíba (14.8%).

Concerning the contribution to the overall result of the sector, the highlights were São Paulo (3.7%); Minas Gerais (10.2%); Rio Grande do Sul (9.8%) Rio de Janeiro (5.1%) and Paraná (7.3%).