Retail trade - August 2021

In August, sales adjusted for calendar effects increased by 4.1% in real terms (at constant prices), year‑on‑year (y-o-y). Non-adjusted sales increased by 5.1%, y-o-y. Seasonally adjusted sales in retail trade increased by 0.3%, month-on-month (m-o-m).

Seasonally adjusted sales in retail trade, except of motor vehicles¹⁾ increased in real terms (at constant prices) by 0.3%, m-o-m, in August. Sales for sale of non-food goods increased by 0.7% and sales for sale of food by 0.1%, whereas sales for sale of automotive fuel decreased by 1.5%.

Sales in retail trade adjusted for calendar effects increased by 4.1%, y-o-y. Sales for sale of non-food goods increased by 8.9% and sales for sale of automotive fuel by 1.9%, whereas sales for sale of food decreased by 1.2%. August 2021 had one working day more than August 2020.

Non-adjusted sales in retail trade increased by 5.1%, y-o-y. Sales for sale of non-food goods increased by 10.7% and sales for sale of automotive fuel by 3.3%, whereas sales for sale of food decreased by 1.5%.

High sales growth further continued in sale of goods via mail order houses or via Internet²⁾ (by 20.6%). An increase was also reported by all assortment types of specialised non-food stores, namely by retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores (by 14.6%), retail sale of other household equipment in specialised stores (by 10.2%), dispensing chemist, medical and orthopaedic goods (by 7.8%), retail sale of cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores (by 4.9%), retail sale of clothing, footwear and leather goods in specialised stores (by 4.6%), and retail sale of cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores (by 1.8%). Food retailers were successful in retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores the sales of which increased by 1.0%, whereas sales in retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating were by 1.6% lower.  

The price deflator in retail trade, except for motor vehicles and motorcycles related to the corresponding period of the previous year (VAT excluded) was 104.0%. It was mainly influenced by higher prices of automotive fuel, clothing, footwear and leather goods, cultural and recreation goods, other household equipment, food, and dispensing chemist, medical and orthopaedic goods. Conversely, prices of cosmetic and toilet articles and information and communication equipment decreased.

Seasonally adjusted sales for sale and repair of motor vehicles³⁾ decreased in real terms (at constant prices) by 2.2%, m-o-m, and sales adjusted for calendar effects decreased by 3.6%, y-o-y. Non-adjusted sales decreased by 0.2%, y-o-y; sales for sale of motor vehicles (including spare parts) decreased by 1.6%, y‑o-y, whereas sales for repair of motor vehicles increased by 5.4%, y‑o‑y.

International comparison of retail sales development in Member States of the EU is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/short-term-business-statistics/publications.

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Notes:
All data in the text of the News Release are at constant prices.
Enterprises are classified to the economic activity according to their principal (prevailing) activity, which is such an activity, from which the enterprise gets the highest value added.
Data for July 2021 have been revised in accordance with the CZSO revision policy. Data for August 2021 are preliminary. Final data for all months of 2021 will be published in March 2022.
We point out that since the way estimates for non-surveyed part of the sample are made has changed, previously released data may be revised more.