Retail Trade - December 2004
Sales in December growing slightly more than the annual average
Publication Date: 16. 02. 2005
Product Code: r-9101-04
Month-on-month comparison:
In December 2004, compared with November, seasonally adjusted retail sales at constant prices incl. the automotive segment fell by 0.8%, of which by 1.7% in the automotive segment and by 0.3% in other retail trade. In the automotive segment, sale and repair of motor vehicles dropped by 2.9%, while sale of automotive fuel grew by 0.3%. Sale of food stagnated, sale of non-food goods was down by 0.5%.
Year-on-year comparison :
Seasonally adjusted (SA) and working days adjusted (WDA) there were two working days more in December 2004 than in December 2003) constant price sales grew by 0.8%, of which sales in the automotive segment fell by 2.2% and sales in the remaining retail trade rose by 2.3%. The highest increases were observed in stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear (+10.9%) and in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (+3.1%). The highest drop was recorded for sale of automotive fuel (-4.8%).
Not SA sales rose by 3.0%, which was by 0.5 percentage points more than the average index from the beginning of the year. Results in December were affected by the distribution of Christmas shopping among preceding months (sales index in November was 5.4 percentage points above the average in last 12 months) and by the fact that a number of chain stores did not work at Christmas 2004, in contrast to Christmas 2003. In addition, the higher number of working days in 2004 fell on the period after Christmas Eve when the buying fever was over. Sales increased in all the main assortment types of stores, with the exception of sale of automotive fuel.
Particularly sale and repair of motor vehicles (+7.4% and +3.1%, respectively) contributed to higher sales in the automotive segment by 3.5%, whereas sale of automotive fuel saw a decrease of 1.6% (the comparing base of December 2003 was high because, due to higher excise tax from 1 January 2004 and expectations of higher prices, both consumers and mainly wholesalers – some of them buy the commodity from companies having retail trade as the principal activity – supplied themselves in advance).
Sales in retail trade (excl. the automotive segment) grew by 2.8%, of which sale of non-food goods by 3.1% and sale of food by 2.3%.
Sales in the individual assortment types of stores developed as follows:
- sales in non-specialised stores increased by 2.9%, of which by 6.4% in stores selling predominantly non-food goods and by 1.8% in stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating;
- sales in specialised stores rose by 2.8%, sale of food, beverages and tobacco growing faster (+5.2%) than sale of non-food goods (+2.5%);
- the demand of consumers in specialised stores with non-food goods was focused mainly on textiles, clothing and footwear (+9.0%), and electronics, electrical appliances, hardware, furniture and other household goods (+5.3%). Sale of other non-food goods (books, newspapers, stationery, etc.) was up by 1.0%, sale of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles grew by only 0.3%;
- sale via stalls and markets and door-to-door sale rose by 6.4%, whereas sale of second-hand goods and sale via mail order houses fell (-8.2% and -0.5%, respectively).
International comparison :
In December, according to Eurostat estimates, SA retail sales excl. the automotive segment in the EU25 grew by 0.1% m-o-m and by 1.8% y-o-y WDA. Among the EU Member States, for which the data were available, sales increased y-o-y in Denmark (+10.1%), Portugal (+4.8%), Sweden (+4.5%), United Kingdom (+4.4%), Poland (+4.3%), Belgium (+4.2%), France (+2.8%), and Spain (+2.5%). On the other hand, sales fell in Germany (-2.8%). According to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, not SA retail sales in Slovakia rose by 3.0% y-o-y.
Annual evaluation – year-on-year development at constant prices:
The year 2004 had 2 working days more than 2003 and, moreover, was by one more day longer (leap year); in spite of that, retail sales incl. the automotive segment grew by only 2.5%, which was the least increase since 1998 (there was a y-o-y decrease in retail sales in the years 1997 and 1998). This trend was followed by both sales in the automotive segment and in other retail trade; the differences in growth, compared to preceding years, were lower in other retail trade (maximum difference 2.4 percentage points) than in the automotive segment (maximum 5.8 points).
Except in January, sales in all the months of 2004 exceeded the levels of the corresponding months of 2003. The lowest growth was observed in the 1st quarter (+1.2%) and the highest in the 4th quarter (+4.1%), particularly due to November when the highest y-o-y rise was recorded (+8.2%). Among individual size groups of enterprises, those with 100 or more employees raised their sales most (+6.9%), whereas sales of entrepreneurs with 0-19 employees dropped by 1.5% y-o-y.
Sales in the automotive segment grew by 1.6%, of which sale of motor vehicles by 2.4%, sale of automotive fuel by 2.7%, while repair and maintenance of motor vehicles fell by 2.7%. Sale of automotive fuel increased in all the quarters and so did, with the exception of the 1st quarter, sales in stores with motor vehicles. Repair and maintenance of motor vehicles were up only in the 4th quarter.
Sales in retail trade (excl. the automotive segment) rose by 2.9%, of which sale of food by 2.4% and sale of non-food goods by 3.3%. Increases in sale of food ranged between 1.4% and 4.7% in individual months of 2004 (except a fall in May). Sale of non-food goods was more differentiated – July and October saw decreases, otherwise the growth ranged between 0.7% and 7.2%. Enterprises with 100 or more employees selling food reached higher y-o-y sales in all the months of 2004, the same holds good for enterprises with 50 or more employees selling non-food goods.
Sales in the individual assortment types of stores developed as follows:
- sales in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating were up by 2.3%, increases were recorded in all the months except May. Sales in stores selling predominantly non-food goods grew by 0.5% in the year 2004 and fell in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
- sales in specialised stores rose most in textiles, clothing and footwear (+12.2%), quite evenly throughout the year. Sale of electronics, electrical appliances, hardware, furniture and other household goods grew by 6.6%, more in the 1st half of the year. Sale of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles rose by 3.6%, with a lower increase in the last part of the year. Sale of other non-food goods (books, newspapers, stationery, etc.) was up by 1.3%, the worst result was reached in the 3rd quarter (-0.1%).
- among the less important types of sale, only sale via stalls and markets and door-to-door sale rose (+3.8%). Sale via mail order houses fell by 0.3% due to considerably lower sales in the 1st half of the year. Below the 2003 level was also sale of second-hand goods (-12.1%).
Note :
In terms of methodology, the results of the statistical survey on sale of motor vehicles are not comparable with the data given by the Automotive Industry Association, for the latter include only sale of new motor vehicles in physical units (in pieces). The statistical survey embraces sales by enterprises selling not only new but also second-hand cars, also sale of spare parts incl. wholesale trade.
Contact: Alena Hellerová, phone (+420) 274 052 921, e-mail: ahellerova@gw.czso.cz
Data source: CZSO direct survey in enterprises
End of data collection: 3 February 2005
End of data processing: 9 February 2005
Related publication: 9106-04 Monthly Survey in Retail Trade, Hotels and Restaurants ( /1-ep-9 )
The data are preliminary; revised data for December 2004 will be published in following two monthly News Releases; definitive data for each month of the year 2004 will be known in June 2005.