The seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.3% in the euro area (EA19) in October 2018 compared to the previous month, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The volume of retail trade increased by 0.1% in the EU28 during the same period.
In September of this year, the retail trade volume decreased by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU28.
Growth Drivers
For the month of October, the volume of retail trade increased by 1.0% for automotive fuel, and by 0.6% for food, drinks, and tobacco in the euro area. Sales of non-food products decreased by 0.1%.
In the EU28, the retail trade volume increased by 0.8% for automotive fuel, and by 0.5% for foods, drinks, and tobacco, while sales of non-food products dropped by 0.3%.
The largest growth in total retail trade volume was registered in Slovenia (+7.9%), Portugal (+2.3%) and Austria (+1.6%), according to the data.
The countries that recorded the highest decline were Finland (-2.0%), Denmark and Sweden (both -1.2%).
Annual Statistics
In October, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 1.7% in the euro area when compared with data from the same month in 2017.
Growth was driven by increased sales in the food, drinks and tobacco segment (+2.3%), non-food products (+1.7%), and automotive fuels (+1.5%).
In the EU 28, the volume of retail trade for the month of October 2018 increased 2.1% year-on-year. This was primarily driven by growth in the sales of non-food products (+2.4%), automotive fuel (+2.3%), and food, drinks and tobacco (+1.9%).
The highest yearly increase in the total retail trade volume was registered in Slovenia (+13.3%), Ireland (+8.4%) and Lithuania (+7.3%), while the total retail trade volume declined in Malta (-2.3%), Finland (-1.0%) and Luxembourg (-0.3%).
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
