The seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade for April 2019 decreased marginally by 0.4% in the euro area (EA19) and 0.3% in the EU28 when compared with data from March 2019.
The year-on-year calendar adjusted retail sales index for April increased by 1.5% in the euro area and 2.9% in the EU28, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
In March 2019, the retail trade volume remained unchanged in the euro area and increased by 0.3% in the EU28.
Monthly Comparison
The volume of retail trade decreased by 0.4% for food, drinks and tobacco and non-food products in April in the euro area, while it increased 0.1% for automotive fuels.
In the EU28, the retail trade volume decreased by 0.4% for non-food products and by 0.2% for food, drinks, tobacco, and automotive fuel.
The largest decrease in the total retail trade volume was seen in Germany (-2.0%), Portugal (-1.0%) and Croatia (-0.9%).
Countries that reported the highest increase include Sweden (+2.4%), Slovenia (+2.0%) and Malta (+1.7%).
Annual Comparison
The volume of retail trade in the euro area in April 2019 saw a year-on-year increase of 1.5% in the food, drinks, and tobacco.
Automotive fuels registered a1.3% year-on-year growth during the same period and non-food products grew by 1.2%.
Retail trade volume in the EU28 saw a year-on-year increase of 3.0% non-food products, 2.7% for food, drinks, and tobacco and by 1.9% for automotive fuel in April.
The highest yearly increase in the total retail trade volume was registered in Slovenia (+12.7%), Lithuania (+10.2%) and Ireland (+10.1%).
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
