In March, retail sales drop 0.6%
May 07, 2021 09h00 AM | Last Updated: May 10, 2021 03h50 PM
In the seasonally-adjusted series, volume of sales of the national retail trade dropped 0.6% in March 2021 over February, after rising 0.5% in February. The quarterly moving average retreated 0.1%, 1.9 p.p. above the quarter ended in February (-2.0%). In the seasonally-unadjusted series, the retail trade increased 2.4% over March 2020, accruing a decline of 0.6% in the year. The cumulative index over the last 12 months was 0.7%, maintaining the growth since October 2017 (0.3%).
| Period | Retail | Extended Retail | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume of sales (%) | Nominal revenue (%) | Volume of sales (%) | Nominal revenue (%) | |
| March / February* | -0.6 | 0.1 | -5.3 | -4.2 |
| Quarterly moving average* | -0.1 | 0.8 | -1.5 | -0.5 |
| March 2021 / March 2020 | 2.4 | 13.8 | 10.1 | 22.2 |
| Cumulative in 2021 | -0.6 | 9.5 | 1.4 | 12.3 |
| Cumulative in 12 months | 0.7 | 6.9 | -1.1 | 5.5 |
| *Seasonally-adjusted series | ||||
In the extended retail trade, which includes vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and construction material, volume of sales fell 5.3% over February. As a result, the quarterly moving average (-1.5%) stepped up the pace of drop against the quarter ended in February (-0.7%).
In the seasonally-adjusted series, seven out of eight activities retreated
In the seasonally-adjusted series, the decline of 0.6% in volume of sales of the retail in March 2021 registered negative rates in seven out of eight activities surveyed, highlighted by Fabric, apparel and footwear (-41.5%), Furniture and domestic appliances (-22.0%), Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-19.1%), Other articles of personal and domestic use (-5.9%), Fuels and lubricants (-5.3%), Office, computer and communication material and equipment (-4.5%) and Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (-0,1%).
The only positive rate came from Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (3.3%).
In the seasonally-adjusted series, the drop of 5.3% in volume of sales of the extended retail trade in March was influenced by the sectors of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces (-20.0%) and Construction material (-5.6%).
| BRAZIL - VOLUME OF SALES OF THE RETAIL TRADE AND EXTENDED RETAIL TRADE, ACCORDING TO GROUPS OF ACTIVITIES: March 2021 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTIVITIES | MONTH/PREVIOUS MONTH (1) | MONTH/SAME MONTH LAST YEAR | CUMULATIVE | |||||
| Change Rate ( %) | Change Rate (%) | Change Rate (%) | ||||||
| JAN | FEB | MAR | JAN | FEB | MAR | IN THE YEAR | 12 MONTHS | |
| RETAIL TRADE (2) | -0.2 | 0.5 | -0.6 | -0.4 | -3.9 | 2.4 | -0.6 | 0.7 |
| 1 - Fuels and lubricants | 0.1 | -0.8 | -5.3 | -7.8 | -10.7 | -1.5 | -6.8 | -10.5 |
| 2 - Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco | -1.8 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 1.3 | -4.6 | -3.9 | -2.5 | 3.2 |
| 2.1 - Supermarkets and hypermarkets | -1.3 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 2.5 | -3.4 | -3.4 | -1.5 | 4.5 |
| 3 - Fabric, apparel and footwear | -8.3 | 7.5 | -41.5 | -21.2 | -18.8 | -12.0 | -18.2 | -23.8 |
| 4 - Furniture and household appliances | -11.4 | 9.9 | -22.0 | -5.2 | 0.7 | 11.9 | 1.6 | 10.0 |
| 4.1 - Furniture | - | - | - | -1.9 | 2.6 | 18.2 | 5.3 | 12.5 |
| 4.2 - Household appliances | - | - | - | -6.8 | 1.2 | 9.0 | 0.3 | 9.1 |
| 5 - Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles and toiletries | 2.3 | -0.4 | -0.1 | 12.8 | 8.8 | 12.1 | 11.3 | 8.9 |
| 6 - Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery | -24.0 | 24.6 | -19.1 | -53.1 | -41.0 | -19.7 | -43.3 | -41.8 |
| 7 - Office, computer and communication equipment and material | 1.7 | -0.8 | -4.5 | -13.5 | -10.2 | 1.0 | -7.9 | -14.8 |
| 8 - Other personal and household articles | 7.6 | -2.5 | -5.9 | 9.8 | 2.1 | 30.0 | 12.8 | 5.4 |
| EXTENDED RETAIL TRADE (3) | -2.3 | 3.2 | -5.3 | -3.1 | -1.9 | 10.1 | 1.4 | -1.1 |
| 9 - Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces | -4.3 | 8.9 | -20.0 | -15.4 | -3.7 | 27.6 | 0.3 | -12.8 |
| 10- Construction material | -1.0 | 2.4 | -5.6 | 11.1 | 18.1 | 33.4 | 20.4 | 16.1 |
| Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Serviços e Comércio. (1) Seasonally-adjusted series (2) The retail trade indicator comprises the figures of the activities numbered 1 to 8. (3) The extended retail trade indicator comprises the figures of the activities numbered 1 to 10 |
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Four of eight retail activities recorded positive rates against March 2020
In the comparison with March 2020, the retail trade grew 2.4%, with positive rates in four out of eight activities. The major contribution came from Other articles of personal and domestic use (30.0%), which gained pace against February (2.1%), with an impact of 3 p.p. on the overall rate. As a result, the sector accrued a gain of 12.8% in the year. The cumulative index over the last 12 months was 5.4%, above that recorded in February (2.2%).
| BRAZIL - NOMINAL REVENUE OF SALES OF THE RETAIL TRADE AND EXTENDED RETAIL TRADE, ACCORDING TO GROUPS OF ACTIVITY: March 2021 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTIVITIES | MONTH/PREVIOUS MONTH (1) | MONTH/SAME MONTH LAST YEAR | CUMULATIVE | |||||
| Change Rate (%) | Change Rate (%) | Change Rate (%) | ||||||
| JAN | FEB | MAR | JAN | FEB | MAR | IN THE YEAR | 12 MONTHS | |
| RETAIL TRADE (2) | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 8.7 | 6.0 | 13.8 | 9.5 | 6.9 |
| 1 - Fuels and lubricants | 2.2 | 6.4 | 3.8 | -7.2 | -3.1 | 21.5 | 3.1 | -10.7 |
| 2 - Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco | -1.3 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 17.1 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 12.4 | 15.1 |
| 2.1 - Supermarkets and hypermarkets | -1.9 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 18.1 | 11.5 | 10.2 | 13.1 | 16.3 |
| 3 - Fabric, wearing apparel and footwear | -5.2 | 0.8 | -9.4 | -21.5 | -18.2 | -11.7 | -18.0 | -24.5 |
| 4 - Furniture and household appliances | -2.9 | 6.6 | -20.7 | 2.7 | 9.8 | 25.2 | 11.3 | 13.7 |
| 4.1 - Furniture | - | - | - | -1.6 | 4.3 | 21.1 | 6.7 | 8.1 |
| Household appliances | - | - | - | 4.6 | 14.3 | 26.9 | 14.0 | 16.4 |
| 5 - Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles and toiletries | 2.4 | -0.1 | -1.0 | 12.0 | 8.1 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 7.9 |
| 6 - Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery | -29.1 | 11.8 | -3.4 | -52.6 | -40.3 | -19.7 | -42.8 | -40.4 |
| 7 - Office, computer and communication equipment and material | 2.2 | -0.9 | -4.1 | -2.4 | 1.2 | 14.1 | 3.9 | -7.3 |
| 8 - Other personal and household articles | 6.9 | -3.5 | -4.7 | 14.3 | 7.0 | 36.8 | 18.1 | 8.2 |
| EXTENDED RETAIL TRADE (3) | -0.5 | 3.3 | -4.2 | 6.9 | 8.6 | 22.2 | 12.3 | 5.5 |
| 9 - Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces | -1.7 | 8.6 | -15.4 | -7.9 | 5.2 | 40.6 | 9.9 | -8.5 |
| 10- Construction material | 1.9 | 5.5 | -4.2 | 28.9 | 40.0 | 62.4 | 43.0 | 26.7 |
| Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Serviços e Comércio. (1)Seasonally-adjusted series. |
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Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (12.1%) posted the tenth consecutive positive change and added up to 1.3 p.p. of the overall rate. This segment accrued 11.3% in the first quarter of the year. The cumulative index over the last 12 months (8.9%) remained stable, since the result up to February was also 8.9%.
Having risen 0.7% in February, Furniture and household appliances (11.9%) accrued 1.6% in the quarter. Having changed from 8.2% (February) to 10.0% (March), the cumulative index over the last 12 months reversed the downward trend registered from November 2020 to February 2021.
Office, computer and communication material and equipment (1.0%) recorded the first rise after dropping for 14 months in a row. The cumulative index in the year was -7.9%. The cumulative index over the last 12 months (-14.8%) stood above the level of February (-16.6%).
On the other hand, Fuels and lubricants lost 1.5% over March 2020, the thirteenth consecutive month of drop, result of a period of rises in the fuel prices. Therefore, both the first quarter of 2021 (-6.8%) and the cumulative index over the last 12 months (-10.5%) remained on the negative side.
The activity of Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-19.7%) registered 14 months of drops in a row. This segment remained retracting, as a result of a reduction of physical stores since 2017. As a result, the loss in the sector was of 43.3% in the comparison with the first quarter of 2020. Having changed from -42.3% to -41.8%, the cumulative index over the last 12 months has remained negative since March 2014 (-0.2%).
The sector of Fabric, apparel and footwear (-12.0%) recorded thirteen consecutive months of negative rates in the inter-annual comparison. The sector stood out as the second one in terms of influence, on the negative side, contributing with -0.5 p.p. to the overall rate. The cumulative index in the year stayed at -18.2%. Having changed from -25.4% up to February to -23.8% in March, the cumulative indicator over the last 12 months decreased its dropping rate.
Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-3.9%) registered the second consecutive month on the negative side in the comparison with March 2020 and exerted the major negative impact on the overall rate (-2.2 p.p. out of 2.4%). The segment fell 2.5% in the first quarter of 2021 over the same quarter of 2020. Having recorded 3.2% in the cumulative index over the last 12 months, the sector decelerated for the second month in a row.
In the extended retail trade, the sector of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces grew 27.6% over March 2020, posting the first positive rate after two months of negative rates. For the extended retail, the sector represented the second major influence over the inter-annual indicator (5.4 p.p. out of 10.1%). As a result, the sector accrued 0.3% in the first quarter and the indicator of the last 12 months (-12.8%) registered loss of pace since March 2020, the month in which the pandemic started in Brazil.
Having grown 33.4%, the segment of Construction material completed a sequence of ten months of consecutive rises. The cumulative index in the year stayed at 20.4%. Having changed from 13.1% in February to 16.1% in March, the indicator of the last 12 months accelerated, which happened since June 2020.
Sales drop in 22 Federation Units compared with February
In the seasonally-adjusted series, the national average rate of sales of the retail trade decreased 0.6% between February and March 2021, with negative figures prevailing in 22 out of 27 Federation Units, highlighted by Ceará (-19.4%), the Federal District (-18.1%) and Amapá (-10.1%). Influencing positively were five FUs, highlighted by Amazonas (14.9%), Acre (11.2%) and Roraima (4.2%).
In the same comparison, the extended retail trade fell 5.3%, with negative figures prevailing in 22 out of 27 Federation Units, highlighted by Bahia (-15.2%), Piauí (-13.2%) and the Federal District (-12.8%). Pressing positively were five out of 27 FUs, highlighted by Amazonas (15.7%), Roraima (5.3%) and Acre (1.3%).
Compared with March 2020, the sales of the retail trade changed 2.4%, with positive figures prevailing in 19 FUs, mainly Rio de Janeiro (7.1%), Minas Gerais (5.5%) and Santa Catarina (7.6%). Pressing negatively were eight FUs, highlighted by the Federal District (-15.3%), Ceará (-7.6%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-1.5%).
In the extended retail trade, the advance of 10.1% over March 2020 was followed by 26 out of 27 FUs, highlighted in terms of contribution by Santa Catarina (25.8%), São Paulo (2.9%) and Minas Gerais (9.6%). Only Tocantins (-1.4%) pressed negatively.
