Retail Trade - August 2008

In August, seasonally adjusted (SA) sales in retail trade except automotive segment increased by 0.1% month-on-month at constant prices; by 0.7%, year-on-year and not seasonally adjusted (NSA) sales fell by 2.6%. The year-on-year drop of sales was recorded both for the sale of food, beverages and tobacco and the non-food goods. In the automotive segment, SA sales at constant prices were 2.0% up, m-o-m, and 0.2% y-o-y; NSA sales dropped by 4.7% y-o-y. SA sales in hotels and restaurants fell by 0.7%, m-o-m and NSA sales decreased by 7.5%, y-o-y.
In August, SA sales in retail trade (CZ-NACE 52) at constant prices increased by 0.1% month-on-month. Sales from the sale of food, beverages and tobacco increased by 0.3% and sales from the sale of non-food goods stagnated. The trend component stagnated for the third month in a row (Table 3).

Graph 1
Year-on-year, adjusted for working day effects (August 2008 had two working days less than August 2007), sales in retail trade decreased by 0.3% at constant prices; and with also seasonal adjustment sales increased (+0.7%). NSA sales in retail trade dropped by 2.6%, of which sales from the sale of food, beverages and tobacco fell by 4.0% and sales from the sale of non-food goods by 1.6%.

Total drop of sales in August was most contributed to by non-specialised stores with food, beverages and tobacco predominating where sales dropped in all size groups of enterprises (from -3.4% to -13.4%). The growth was recorded only in specialised stores with furniture, lighting equipment, household articles, electrical appliances, radio and television goods, hardware, paints and glass, and in stores with textiles and footwear, however, compared with the previous period, a slow-down of growth was recorded.

The price deflator related to August 2007 was 103.4%. The biggest price increase was recorded in stores with food, beverages and tobacco, of which in specialized stores by 8.2% and in non-specialized stores by 6.7%. Prices in stores with pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles grew by 5.8%, in retail sale via stand sales and other sale operated outside stores prices increased by 4.5% and prices in non-specialised stores with non-food goods predominating increased by 2.4%. In contrast, price decreases were recorded in sale via mail order houses and in sale of second-hand goods (-1.3%), in stores with textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (-1.1%), in stores with household articles (-0.6%) and with non-food goods (-0.3%).

In August, according to data released by Eurostat, SA retail sales at constant prices in the EU27 were up by 0.4% month-on-month and down by 0.2% year-on-year (working day adjusted). Among the member states for which data were available, year-on-year sales increases were recorded in Romania (+17.3%), Slovenia (+6.9%), Poland (+6.2%), Slovakia (+5.7%), Lithuania (+3.0%), Sweden and the United Kingdom (both +2.9%), Bulgaria (+2.3%), Finland (+2.2%), Portugal (+1.7%), Germany (+0.2%). Sales dropped in Latvia (-8.9%), Estonia (-6.7%), Spain (-5.8%), Denmark (-5.2%), Luxembourg (-2.5%), Belgium (-1.6%) and Austria (-1.4%).
In the automotive segment (CZ-NACE 50), SA sales at constant prices increased by 2.0% month-on-month and by 0.2% year-on-year. NSA sales dropped by 4.7% year-on-year, whereas in sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles they dropped by 10.4% while in the sale of automotive fuel they increased by 4.5%.

In retail trade, incl. the automotive segment (CZ-NACE 52 + 50), SA sales at constant prices increased by 0.7% month-on-month and by 0.5% year-on-year. NSA sales fell by 3.3%, year-on-year.

In hotels and restaurants (CZ-NACE 55), SA sales at constant prices dropped by 0.7% month-on-month. NSA sales decreased by 7.5 % year-on-year; sales in hotels, camping sites and other provisions of short-stay accommodation decreased by 10.5% and in restaurants, canteens and catering by 6.3%.

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Notes
1) The whole time series is seasonally adjusted every month; indices in the graph are changed retroactively.
Contact: Alena Hellerová, tel. (+420) 274052921, e-mail: alena.hellerova@csu.gov.cz
Data source: CZSO direct survey in enterprises
End of data collection: 6 October 2008
End of data processing: 9 October 2008
The data for August 2008 are preliminary, data for the previous months are not revised; final data for all months of 2008 will be available in June 2009 at the latest. Monthly data since 1997 are available in time series ( /sales_indices_monthly_retail_trade_hotels_and_restaurants_time_series )