Retail Trade - March 2008

In March, seasonally adjusted sales in retail trade except of automotive segment dropped by 0.6%, month-on-month, at constant prices, and in the year-on-year comparison, sales increased by 0.7%. Seasonally non adjusted sales dropped by 2.1% after 51 months of incessant growth. The y-o-y sales decrease was recorded in the sale of food, beverages and tobacco and also in the non-food goods sale. Seasonally adjusted sales in automotive segment dropped by 2.2%, m-o-m, at constant prices, in the year-on-year comparison by 0.1% and not seasonally adjusted by 4.4%. Seasonally adjusted sales in hotels and restaurants decreased, m-o-m, by 0.5% and not seasonally adjusted dropped by 3.4%, year-on-year.
In March, seasonally adjusted sales in retail trade (CZ-NACE 52) decreased by 0.6%, month-on-month, at constant prices, of which sales from the sale of food, beverages and tobacco by 1.1% and from the non-food goods sale by 0.3%. The trend component increased by 0.1%, just like in the previous five months (Table 3).

Graph 1
Year-on-year, after seasonal and working day adjustments (in March 2008 there were two working days less than in March 2007) sales in retail trade increased by 0.7% at constant prices, only working days adjusted the sales dropped by 0.7%. The impact of Easter prevailing over working day adjustment, showed itself. Not seasonally adjusted sales in retail trade after 51 months of incessant growth dropped by 2.1% of which the sales from food, beverages and tobacco by 3.0% and from the non-food goods sale by 1.4%. In addition to the working days adjustment, the y-o-y results recorded for groups of stores broken by assortment were affected by extremely high last year’s base which reflected the unusually warm weather speeding up purchases typical for late spring. In March 2008, conversely, cold weather dominated.

The biggest contribution to the total sales decline in March was attributed to stores with pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles (which recorded also the biggest drop of sales) and to non-specialized stores with the food, beverages and tobacco predominating. A slow-down was recorded for retail trade with insignificant contribution to the total growth operated via Internet or mail-order houses, for specialized stores with textiles and footwear and also household articles. (Table 2).

Broken by size groups of enterprises the drop of sales occurred in all groups save for enterprises with 100+ employees where sales increased by only 0.3%.

The price deflator (related to the corresponding period of the previous year) was 104.1%. The price increase in food, beverages and tobacco slowed down by one percentage point to 8.9% compared with February. In stores with pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles prices increased by 5.3%, in retail sale via stand sales and other sale operated outside stores by 5.2% and in non-specialized stores with the non-food goods predominating by 2.9%. In contrast, in sale via mail order houses prices dropped by 1.7%, in stores with textiles, footwear and leather goods by 1.6%, with second-hand goods by 1.4 %, with household articles by 0.9% and with other non-food goods by 0.3%.

In March, according to data released by Eurostat, seasonally adjusted retail sales at constant prices in the EU27 dropped by 0.7%, month-on-month, and, in the year-on-year comparison, sales increased by 0.4%, (working days adjusted). Among member states for which data were available, the year-on-year sales increases were recorded in Romania (+16.2%), Slovakia (+10.4%), Lithuania (+9.0%), Bulgaria (+8.7%), the United Kingdom (+5.6%), Sweden (+3.8%), Poland (+3.0%), Austria (+2.3) and in Finland (+1.6%). Prices dropped in Spain (-5.3%), Estonia (-4.9%), Denmark (-4.6%), Luxembourg (-4.2%), Belgium (-3.8%), Latvia (-3.4%), Slovenia (-1.3%), Germany (-1.1%), France (-0.8%) and Portugal (-0.3%).
In the automotive segment (CZ-NACE 50), seasonally adjusted sales dropped by 2.2%, month-on-month, at constant prices, and in the year-on-year comparison by 0.1%. Not seasonally adjusted sales dropped year-on-year by 4.4% of which sales from retail sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles by 5.3% and from the sale of automotive fuel by 2.5%.

In retail trade incl. the automotive segment (CZ-NACE 52 + 50), seasonally adjusted sales at constant prices decreased by 1.2% , month-on-month and in the year on year comparison they increased by 0.4%. Not seasonally adjusted sales dropped by 2.9%, year-on-year.

In hotels and restaurants (CZ-NACE 55) seasonally adjusted sales dropped by 0.5%, month-on-month, at constant prices. Not seasonally adjusted sales decreased by 3.4%, year-on-year, of which in hotels and camping sites by 4.1 % and in restaurants, bars and canteens by 3.2%. In hotels and camping sites sales decreased in all size groups, in restaurants, bars and canteens only the size group of enterprises with 20 – 49 employees recorded a growth (+1.8%).

---

Note
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: 7 May 2008
End of data processing: 13 May 2008
The data for March 2008 are preliminary; 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 )