These results reflect the acceleration in January sales, after stability in December, when the volume of retail sales remained unchanged, and nominal revenue changed by 0.8%. In comparison with January 2007 (series without seasonal adjustment), the rate for volume of sales was 11.8%; in the last 12 months, it was 10%. For nominal trade, the rates were 16.5% and 12.6%, respectively.

In the first month of the year, nine of the ten activities surveyed had positive results for volume of sales, in the seasonally adjusted series: Furniture and household appliances (9.8%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (7.7%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (3.7%); Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (2.6%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic, perfumery articles and cosmetics (2.4%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (1.8%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (1.1%); Fuels and lubricants (0.9%); Construction material (0.2%). The only negative result came from Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-4.1%).

In comparison with January 2007, all the activities of retail trade had increase of volume of sales. In order of importance to the overall rate, the best results were those of Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (8.4%); Furniture and household appliances (16.0%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (29.6%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (15.4%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic, perfumery articles and cosmetics (12.6%); Fuels and lubricants (3.1%); Office, computer and communication material and equipment (24.7%); and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (8.1%). 

The subsector Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, even with a result below average (8.4%), accounted for the main contribution to the overall retail trade rate. In terms of the index accumulated in 12 months, this activity had increase of 6.7%. This performance was stimulated by the increase of the population’s purchasing power, as a consequence of the increase of salary mass and of the expansion of credit.  A possible explanation to this increase extremely below average may be the acceleration of prices of food products in 2007. This item reached 13.3% of accumulated change in the last 12 months (from February 07 to January 08), with inflation of 4.6% in the period, according to IPCA. 

The activity Furniture and household appliances (16.0%) accounted for the second major impact on the formation of retail trade, being responsible for 22% of it. Considering the index accumulated in the year, the segment had increase of 14.8%, a result attributed, basically, to the expansion of credit; reduction of prices of electronic appliances and the improvement of salary volume.

Other articles of personal and domestic use (29.6%) represented the third major impact on the formation of the retail rate, accounting for 19% of the overall index. Encompassing segments such as department stores, glasses shops, jewelry shops, sporting goods stores, toy stores, etc, the activity has been positively affected by the improvement of economy as a whole. The index accumulated in the last 12 months was about 23.7%.   

The fourth major contribution to the positive result of retail trade, in January, came from the activity Textiles, apparel and footwear (15.4%), with a result which can be seen as a consequence of a  the period of sales and special prices which occurs at the beginning of each year. This accumulated change of this activity was 11.2%.

Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (16.25) accounted for the fifth major contribution to the overall retail rate and accumulated 9.9% in the last 12 months. The increase of the salary volume , together with the diversity of products traded and the increase of generic products are the main explanations to the positive performance of this segment.

Fuels and lubricants (3.1%) was, in January, responsible for the sixth major contribution to the overall retail trade rate. In terms of accumulated performance, the retail rate reached 5.1% in the last 12 months. This behavior may have resulted from the stability of fuel prices, together with the improvement of economic conditions in the country.

Office, computer and communication material and equipment (24.7%) accounted for the seventh major impact on the formation of the overall rate, having accumulated rate of 30.3% in the last 12 months. It is the activity with the second highest level of increase in January. Among the factors which have led to  this performance, the highlights are the reduction of prices of products from this group, together with good financing benefits and the growing importance that computer science programs have had on household consumption.

The activity Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (8.1%), due to its reduced participation in the structure of retail trade and to its performance below average, had, once more , the least influential result to the overall result. Its accumulated rate for the last 12 months was 7.3%.

Extended retail trade, which includes retail trade and the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, had increase of 14.5% in comparison with the same month in the previous year, and of 18.5% for nominal revenue of sales. The index accumulated in the last 12 months changed by 13.9% and 15.8% for volume of sales and for nominal revenue, respectively.

Considering volume of sales, the activity Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces registered increase of 20.9% in relation to the figure in January 2007, having accumulated change of 23.1% in the last months. With this result, the activity occupied the third position in terms of level of increase. The reduction of interest rates and the extended financing period - as well as positive expectations related to the maintenance of employment - have been the main factors for the expansion of sales in the year.

In terms of Construction material, the changes were 9.6% in the comparison January 08/January 07, and 10.9%, accumulated in the last 12 months. This performance resulted from the favorable economic scenario, especially concerning credit conditions and salaries, and also official measures of incentive to construction. A good example of such measures is the reduction of taxes (and the subsequent fall of prices) on certain basis products used in this activity.

Only 3 of the 27 Federative Units had negative results in the comparison January 08/January 07: Roraima (0.8%); Amazonas (-1.7%) and Acre (-8.2%). The positive highlights in terms of sales were: Rio Grande do Norte (18.5%); Paraíba (17.0%); Mato Grosso do Sul (15.8%); Pará (15.5%) and São Paulo (14.8%). Considering the participation in the retail trade rate, the main contributions, in order, came from: São Paulo (14.8%); Rio de Janeiro (11.4%); Minas Gerais (10.4%); Rio Grande do Sul (9.4%); and Paraná (10.2%).

In relation to extended retail trade, the main performance rates for volume of sales were registered in Mato Grosso do Sul (22.5%); Espírito Santo (22.1%); Rio Grande do Norte (19.7%); Paraná (18.9%); Pará (17.8%) and Goiás (17.1%). The main highlights in terms of overall results were: São Paulo (14.6%); Rio de Janeiro (12.9%); Minas Gerais (14.4%); Paraná (18.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (12.4%).

Still considering the analysis by Federative Units, the results with seasonal adjustment for volume of sales point to only a state with negative change, in the comparison between January 2008 and December 2007: Mato Grosso (-2.0%). The main increases occurred in Paraíba (11.0%); Rio de Janeiro (5.7%); Pará (5.2%); Alagoas (4.6%) and Pernambuco (3.4%).