…Largest decreases registered in Austria, Ireland and Slovakia

The volume of retail trade has declined in Europe as both the Euro Area and the European Union (EU) struggles to ramp up trade across their borders in January 2021 in comparison to the previous month in December 2020.

The latest data from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union showed that the volume of trade in the Euro Area declined by 5.9 per cent  while trade in the EU fell by 5.1 per cent during January 2020 compared with December 2020. Eurostat notes that, “in December 2020, the retail trade volume rose by 1.8 per cent in the Euro Area and by 1.4 per cent in the EU.

In comparison to January 2020, January 2021’s calendar adjusted retail sales index declined by 6.4 per cent in the Euro Area and by 5.4 per cent in the EU.

Monthly comparison by retail sector and by member state

In comparison to December 2020, the volume of retail trade declined in the Euro Area in January 2021 by 12.0 per cent for non-food products and by 1.1 per cent for automotive fuels, while it increased by 1.1 per cent for food, drinks and tobacco. As it regards the EU, the volume of retail trade there declined by 9.9 per cent for non-food products and by 0.3 per cent for automotive fuels, while it rose by 1.0 per cent for food, drinks and tobacco, as indicated by the Eurostat.

Furthermore, among the member states, Eurostat points out that, “the largest decreases in total retail trade were registered in Austria (-16.6 per cent), Ireland (-15.7 per cent) and Slovakia (-11.1 per cent). The highest increases were observed in Sweden (+3.5 per cent), Bulgaria (+1.8 per cent) and Estonia (+1.7 per cent)”.

Annual comparison by retail sector and by member state

According to Eurostat, “in the Euro Area in January 2021, compared with January 2020, the volume of retail trade decreased by 18.3 per cent for automotive fuels and by 13.6 per cent for non-food products. Within this category, mail orders and internet increased by 39.1 per cent).

There was an increase of 5.9 per cent for food, drinks and tobacco in the Euro Area.

“Furthermore, in the EU, the volume of retail trade declined by 15.7 per cent for automotive fuels and by 11.5 per cent for non-food products (mail orders and internet increased by 40.0 per cent), while it rose by 5.4 per cent for food, drinks and tobacco,” Eurostat reports.

Among the member states for which data are available, the largest decreases in the total amount of retail tail trade were reported in Austria and Slovakia, both down 16.8 per cent; Slovenia, dropping by 13.0 per cent and Portugal, down 10.9 per cent. The largest rise was observed in Estonia, up 8.0 per cent; Belgium advancing by 4.2 per cent and Finland inched up by 3.8 per cent.