Retail trade accelerates sales growth to 4.8% in February and adds 15 months of increases

MADRID, 27 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Retail trade registered an increase in sales of 4.8% in February compared to the same month in 2023, expanding by 2.5 points the year-on-year advance it experienced in January, as reported this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). ).

With the rebound in February, the most pronounced since April 2022, retail trade turnover has chained 15 consecutive months of year-on-year increases.

Within the retail sector, sales of food products rose 5.2% year-on-year, while sales of other products increased 6.3% compared to February 2023, with increases of 10.2% , 8.3% and 6.2% in sales of personal equipment, home equipment and health, respectively.

For its part, sales at service stations increased 1.4% year-on-year in the second month of the year.

By distribution modes, the greatest year-on-year growth in sales was recorded by small chains (7.3%), followed by large chains (7%); single-location companies (5.2%), and large stores (2.5%). In contrast, sales fell 0.3% in e-commerce.

Eliminating seasonal and calendar effects, retail trade turnover increased by 1.9% in the second month of the year, a rate 1.4 points higher than that of January.

In the first two months of the year, retail sales have increased an average of 3.4% compared to the same period last year (1.2% in seasonally adjusted data), highlighting the increases in small and large chains, greater than 5%.

Retail sales of ICT equipment in specialized establishments soared by an average of 13.8% in the first two months of the year, while those of cultural and recreational items fell by 6%.

SALES INCREASE 0.5% IN THE MONTH

In monthly rate (February over January) and eliminating the seasonal and calendar effect, retail sales rose by 0.5%, in contrast to the 0.4% decrease experienced in the first month of the year.

Within the corrected series, all distribution modes presented positive monthly rates in February, except for large chains, which reduced their sales by 0.7%. The largest increase was seen in large stores, with an increase in turnover of 2.4% compared to January.

In February, sales of food products increased by 0.7% compared to the previous month, while those of other products decreased by 0.1%. For its part, sales at service stations fell 1%.

EMPLOYMENT ACCELERATES ITS INTER-ANNUAL GROWTH RATE TO 2.1%

Regarding employment, retail trade increased its employment by 2.1% in February compared to the same month in 2023, a rate two tenths higher than that of January. With the advance in February, employment in retail trade has chained 34 months of consecutive year-on-year increases.

The largest year-on-year increases in employment are observed in large chains (2.7%), followed by single-location companies (2.5%), large stores (1.3%) and small chains (1.1%). .

In monthly terms, employment in the sector fell 0.6%, highlighting the decline in employment in large chains (-1.8%) and small chains (-1.4%).

ALL COMMUNITIES INCREASE THEIR SALES AND THREE DESTROY JOBS

Retail sales rose at an annual rate in all autonomous communities during the second month of the year.

The largest increases were recorded in Andalusia (7.4%), Cantabria (7.1%) and the Canary Islands (6%), while the most moderate increases occurred in Murcia (2%) and Castilla y León (2.5%). %).

For its part, retail trade employment increased in 14 communities at an annual rate, especially in Madrid (5.8%), Andalusia (2.7%), the Canary Islands (2.5%) and the Balearic Islands (2.3%). .

The only decreases in occupancy occurred in La Rioja (-1.3%), Extremadura (-0.7%) and Galicia (-0.1%). Employment also decreased in the autonomous city of Melilla (-0.5%).