In October, retail trade in the country recorded 0.4% growth in volume of sales in relation to the previous month...

In October, retail trade in the country recorded 0.4% growth in volume of sales in relation to the previous month, in the seasonally adjusted series. Nominal revenue increased 1.3%. With these figures, the sector completes six consecutive months of positive rates in volume of sales and 10 months in nominal revenue. The other indexes, with no seasonal adjustment, presented growth in volume of sales of 8.8% (over October 2009), 11.1% in the accumulated in 2010 and 10.7% in the last 12 months. For the same indicators, nominal revenue had increases of 13.3%, 14.3% and 13.8%, respectively.

Among activities, five have positive variation

In the seasonally adjusted series, among the 10 activities, five recorded positive variations, four had negative variations and one demonstrated stability. Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (6.8%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (4.7%); Furniture and household appliances (2.3%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (1.7%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (1.4%); Construction material (0.0%); Fuels and lubricants (-0.2%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.2%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (-2.0%) and Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-10.0%).

In comparison with October 2009, all activities presented increases. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (6.7%); Furniture and household appliances (15.4%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (9.9%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (9.9%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (9.9%); Fuels and lubricants (5.1%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (12.6%); and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (15.9%).

Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco made the greatest contribution (37%) to the overall rate of retail trade. The result is due to the growth of volume of real income usually earned (10.8% over October 2009, according to the Monthly Employment Survey – PME), although there was a 6.9% rise of prices in the Group Meals in the Household, above overall inflation measured by the Extended National Consumer Price Index (IPCA) (5.2%), in the accumulated of the last 12 months. The activity results for the accumulated in 2010 and in the last 12 months were 9.7% and 9.6%, respectively.

Furniture and household appliances exerted the second highest contribution (28%), explained by credit supply, decreased prices in the sector due to exchange appreciation and positive evolution of the salary volume of the employed population. In the accumulated in the year, gain was 18.1%, and in the last 12 months, 17.2%.

Other articles of personal and domestic use, which comprises department stores, opticians, jewelry shops, sporting goods stores, toy stores, etc., exerted the third main impact (10%) on retail rate. The behavior of salary volume, of credit supply and the celebration of Children’s Day are the main responsible factors for this performance. In accumulated terms, the rate for the first 10 months of the year was 8.7%, and for the last 12 months, 8.3%.

Textiles, apparel and footwear were responsible for the fourth contribution to the overall rate. In accumulated terms, result were10.9% for 2010 and 9.7% for the last 12 months. The activity keeps the upward trend even with rising prices in the segment (6.2% of variation in the group apparel in the accumulated of the last 12 months, according to IPCA).

Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, with the fifth major participation, had accumulated rates of 11.5% in the year and 11.5% for the last 12 months. Their performance is still related to the movement of real volume of salary and credit, added to the essential aspect of this category of product.

Fuels and lubricants exerted the sixth contribution to the overall rate. In the accumulated in the year, the rise was 6.6%, and in the last 12 months, 6.2%. Stability of fuel prices (1.7% in 12 months, according to IPCA) and the increased fleet of automotive vehicles in circulation contributed to that performance.

Office, computer and communication material and equipment, with the seventh major contribution, had increases of 24.4% in 2010 and 21.4% in the last 12 months. Decreased prices of products of the sector, such as microcomputers and telephones (-7.6% and -8.3%, respectively, in the last 12 months, according to IPCA), and the favorable conditions of credit and income explain the performance.

Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles exerted the major influence on the overall result. The variation was 9.4% both for the accumulated in the year and for the last 12 months. Such results are due principally to the increased income.

The Extended retail trade recorded growth of 2.1% for volume of sales and 2.0% for nominal revenue in comparison with September, both rates being seasonally adjusted. In comparison with October 2009, variations were 11.2% and 14.1%, respectively. In the accumulated of the year and the last 12 months, rates increased 11.4% and 12.0%, respectively, for volume of sales. For nominal revenue, variations were 14.1% and 14.3%, respectively.

Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces recorded a 16.0% rise in volume of sales in relation to October 2009, accumulating variations of 11.3% and 14.1% in the year and in the last 12 months, respectively. Construction material had variations of 8.9% in relation to October 2009, 15.6% in the accumulated in the year and 13.9% in the last 12 months. The performance is explained by the official measures to stimulate civil construction (IPI reduction and the enlargement of lines of credit), besides the increased revenue.

All Federation Units presented increases in comparison with October 2009

All the 27 Federation Units had positive results in comparison to October 2009, with highlights being Tocantins (73.0%), Rondônia (28.8%), Roraima (27.2%), Maranhão (20.4%) and Acre (20.0%). In terms of participation in the overall rate composition, São Paulo (7.5%), Rio de Janeiro (10.8%), Minas Gerais (8.8%), Rio Grande do Sul (9.2%) and Paraná (8.1%) stood out.

In relation to Extended Retail Trade, the best performances in volume of sales were those from Tocantins (61.2%), Rondônia (32.4%), Roraima (23.2%), Mato Grosso (21.4%) and Acre (20.6%). In terms of participation in the overall result, the highlights were São Paulo (10.6%), Rio de Janeiro (11.1%), Minas Gerais (10.0%), Rio Grande do Sul (11.7%) and Paraná (12.4%).

The results seasonally adjusted for volume of sales show 14 of the 27 Federation Units with positive variation in comparison with September, with highlights being Rio Grande do Norte (3.7%), the Federal District (3.3%), Goiás (2.0%) and Bahia (1.7%). On the other hand, the largest decreases were displayed by Roraima (-8.1%), Paraíba (-3.4%), Amapá (-3.0%) and Alagoas (-1.0%).