Retail Trade - April 2012

In April, sales in retail trade including automotive segment after seasonal adjustment decreased by 2.1% at constant prices, month-on-month. Working days adjusted sales decreased by 4.1%, year-on-year, the same as non-adjusted. The year-on-year drop of sale was reflected in both the retail trade and automotive segment.

After seasonal adjustment sales in retail trade including sale and repair of motor vehicles decreased by 2.1% at constant prices in April, m-o-m; working days adjusted sales decreased by 4.1%, year-on-year, the same as non-adjusted. The drop of sales at the same number of working days in April 2012 and 2011 was influenced by a drop of sales both in retail trade (-2.2 p.p.) and the automotive segment (-1.9 p.p.) – see Table 2.

Seasonally adjusted sales for sale and repair of motor vehicles (CZ-NACE 45) decreased by 3.8% at constant prices, m-o-m; in the year-on-year comparison, both adjusted for working days and non-adjusted decreased by 6.0%. Non-adjusted sales for sale of motor vehicles (including spare parts) decreased by 6.4%, y-o-y, and for maintenance and repair of motor vehicles by 3.1%.

In retail sale including sale of automotive fuel (CZ-NACE 47) seasonally adjusted sales at constant prices decreased by 1.4%, m-o-m; working days adjusted sales as well as non-adjusted decreased by 3.2%, y-o-y. Non-adjusted sales for sale of automotive fuel decreased by 7.1%, y-o-y; for food and non-food goods they dropped by 5.8% and 0.2%, respectively.

The drop of retail sales was influenced the most by the development of sale of food. It has been decreasing for already twelfth month in a row and the fall even deepened in April. The drop of sales was reported in both non-specialized and specialized stores (-6.0% and -3.5%, respectively). However, after six months of growth, sales dropped also in sale of non-food goods; it was the deepest in other retail sale in non-specialised stores (-7.9%) and in retail sale of other household equipment in specialised stores (-2.6%). Despite that some groups of goods reported growth of sale. Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet revived (+9.6%), retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores was also successful (+5.9%); growth continued also in clothing, footwear and leather goods in specialised stores (+3.9%) and in sale of dispensing chemist, medical and orthopaedic goods, cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores (+3.7%).

The price deflator (CZ-NACE 47) related to the corresponding period of the previous year (VAT excluded) was 101.3% and it was influenced mainly by higher prices of automotive fuel and food. On the contrary, the deepest price falls were in retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores.

International comparison of retail sales development in the EU Member States is available at: ( http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home).


Notes:
Data for January 2011 to March 2012 have been revised in accordance with the revision policy of the CZSO; data for April 2012 are preliminary; final data for all months of 2012 will be available in June 2013 at the latest.
Responsible head at the CZSO: Marie Boušková, phone (+420) 274 052 935, e-mail: marie.bouskova@csu.gov.cz
Contact person: Marcela Mašátová, phone (+420) 274 052 681, e-mail: marcela.masatova@csu.gov.cz
Method of data acquisition: direct survey of the CZSO (SP1-12)
End of data collection: 28 May 2012
End of data processing: 31 May 2012
Related publications: Base and y-o-y indices from 2000 and 2001 are available in time series ( /sales_indices_monthly_retail_trade_hotels_and_restaurants_time_series )
Next News Release will be published on: 4 July 2012