Eurostat statistics show that the highest increase in total retail trade in January 2015 was registered in Portugal (+6.8%), after suffering a decrease of 3.2% in December last year.
Poland was second (+3.1%), followed by Germany (+2.9%) and Slovenia (+2.4%). On the other hand, the highest decreases were observed in the UK (-0.9%), Lithuania (-0.5%), Bulgaria and Ireland (both with -0.1%).
In January 2015, the volume of retail trade in the euro area (EA19) increased by 1.1%, and 0.8% in the EU28, compared to the previous month, when growth was 0.4% in both zones.
The retail sales index increased by 3.7% in the euro area and by 4.0% in the EU28, compared with the same month of 2014.
The 1.1% yearly increase in the volume of retail trade in the euro area in January 2015 is due to rises of 3.2% for automotive fuel, of 1.2% for the non-food sector and of 1.0% for “Food, drinks and tobacco”. In the EU28, the 0.8% increase is due to rises of 2.9% for automotive fuel, of 0.8% for the non-food sector and of 0.6% for “Food, drinks and tobacco”.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Branislav Pekic
