Retail turnover growth 4 percent in March
March 2016 had a Wednesday and a Thursday more and a Sunday and a Monday less than March 2015. After correction for the calendar effect, retail turnover is only marginally higher than one year previously.
Easter boosts turnover food sector
Turnover generated by food, beverages and tobacco shops was 7.8 percent up from twelve months previously. The calendar effect referred to above played a part in this respect. Retail sales and prices were up by 6.5 and 1.2 percent respectively. Supermarkets and specialist shops saw turnover grow by nearly 8 percent compared to last year.
Modest turnover growth non-food sector
The non-food sector accounted for a 1.4 percent turnover growth relative to last year. Prices were 0.9 percent higher, sales rose by 0.5 percent.
Home furnishing shops and chemist shops showed better turnover results. Household appliances shops, DIY shops and clothing shops also reported good results in March 2015, but - just as in the preceding months - consumer electronics shops performed less well.
| February 2016 | March 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total food | 3.7 | 7.8 |
| Supermarkets | 3.6 | 7.8 |
| Specialist food shops | 4 | 7.7 |
| Total non-food sector | 0.5 | 1.4 |
| Chemist shops | 3.7 | 6.2 |
| Home furnishing shops | 7.3 | 6.2 |
| Household articles | -0.2 | 4 |
| DIY shops | 5.3 | 2.5 |
| Clothing | -1.2 | 0.7 |
| Consumer electronics | -8.5 | -8.9 |
Robust growth e-tailing
Online turnover increased by nearly 20 percent in March. Turnover results realised by web shops were more than 26 percent higher than in the same period last year. For web shops selling goods and services over the internet is their core activity. Online turnover generated by traditional retailers, for whom selling online is only a side activity (so-called multi-channelers), was more than 11 percent up.
Sources
- StatLine Retail trade; turnover change