In December, the volume of retail trade sales in the country increased by 0.3% in comparison with that of the previous month, in the seasonally-adjusted series. Nominal revenue recorded the same percent change. As a result, the sector completed a period of four months with positive rates for volume of sales and 38 months in a row for nominal revenue. The other indexes, without seasonal adjustment, registered increase of 6.7% in volume of sales over December 2010 and the same figure accumulated in the year. Nominal revenue had rates of 10.1% over December 2010 and of 11.5% in the year. 

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Seven of ten activities changed positively

In the seasonally-adjusted series, 7 of the 10 activities changed positively in terms of volume of sales: Office, computer and communication material and equipment (6.9%); Furniture and household appliances (2.6%); Pharmaceutical, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (1.3%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (0.9%) and Other articles of personal and domestic use (0.6%). The activities that changed negatively were Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-5.3%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-1.5%) and Fuels and lubricants (-0.5%).

Only one activity recorded a negative rate when compared with the December 2010 figure: Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-2.3%). The positive rates, in descending order of importance to the overall retail figure, were recorded by Furniture and household appliances (15.3%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (4.6%); Office, computer and communication equipment and material (34.8%); Pharmaceutical, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (7.0%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (3.4%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (0.8%) and Fuels and lubricants (0.4%).

By rising 16.6% in relation to the previous year, the activity of Furniture and household appliances exerted the highest impact (45.6%) on the annual retail rate. This performance was due to the growth both in the employment and income as well as to the availability of credit and decline of prices, mainly concerning the household appliances – IPCA´s sub-item electrical-electronic apparatus changed -5.4% against an average annual inflation of 6.5%.

The segment of Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco expanded 4.0% the volume of sales in 2011 compared with the previous year, accounting for 27.3% of the annual retail rate, the second major contribution to the overall rate. This performance mainly reflects the increase of the purchasing power of the population, due to the larger participation of wages in the economy - obtained through income and employment improvements - and to the expansion of credit.

The activity of Pharmaceutical, medical and orthopedic articles and toiletries, which rose by 9.7% in relation to the previous year, accounted for third biggest contribution to the overall annual rate. The stability of employment, expansion of wages and availability of credit, in addition to the essential and permanent nature of its products, explain the positive performance of this segment for the eighth year in a row.

Extended retail accumulated 6.6% in 2011

Extended retail trade, which includes retail trade and the activities of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and construction material, recorded an increase of 1.6% in terms of volume and 1.2% in terms of nominal revenue, both against November 2011 in the seasonally-adjusted series. As to the indicators without seasonal adjustment, the changes were the following: 4.3% in the comparison with December 2010 and 6.6% in the accumulated in the year for the volume of sales, and 6.4% and 9.4% for the nominal revenue, respectively.

Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces changed -0.7% in terms of volume of sales when compared with December 2010 and 6.1% in the accumulated in the year.

As to Construction material, the changes were of 5.1% against December of the previous year and 9.1% in the accumulated in the last 12 months.

17 Federation Units changed positively when compared with December 2010

Among the Federation Units, the seasonally-adjusted figures for the volume of sales changed positively in 17, fell in 8 and were stable in two, all compared with the previous month. The major increases were in Acre (8.7%); Tocantins (7.2%); Amapá (1.9%) and Goiás (1.7%). On the other hand, the major decreases were in Piauí (-7.8%); Amazonas (-1.6%) and Sergipe (-1.4%). São Paulo and Santa Catarina did not record any change. As to the contributions to the retail trade rate, the highlights in descending order were: São Paulo (6.4%); Minas Gerais (10.4%); Paraná (12.8%); Rio Grande do Sul (7.0%); Santa Catarina (10.3%) and Rio de Janeiro (2.8%).

Concerning the extended retail, the highest monthly rates in terms of volume of sales were in Tocantins (26.9%); Roraima (13.7%); Mato Grosso (11.2%); Paraná (10.3%) and Paraíba (10.0%). In terms of the impact on the overall retail figure, the highlights were São Paulo (4.7%); Paraná (10.3%); Minas Gerais (4.8%); Rio Grande do Sul (4.7%); Santa Catarina (4.2%) and Mato Grosso (11.2%).

The Federation Units did not register any negative change for the accumulated in the year of 2011. The biggest increases in volume of sales in the retail were in Tocantins (25.2%); Paraíba (14.2%); Rondônia (10.6%); Roraima (10.6%) and Minas Gerais (10.0%). In the extended retail, the highest annual rates were of 22.2% in Tocantins; 15.0% in Espírito Santo; 10.0% in Paraíba; 9.6% in Maranhão and 9.5% in Roraima. The only negative change was observed in Amapá (-4.6%), whereas in Sergipe the change was null.