Data from Eurostat showed that retail sales rose by 0.1% in January, as expected, after falling by 0.6% in December (revised from -1.1%). In annual terms, retail sales fell by 1.0%, accelerating compared to December (-0.5%, revised from -0.8%). Consensus estimates suggested a 1.3% drop. As for the EU countries, retail sales rose by 0.3% on a monthly basis and fell by 0.6% compared to January 2023. Overall, the latest data offers some hope of a consumer rebound that could drive a wider economic recovery.
The data showed that in the eurozone the volume of retail trade increased for food, drinks, tobacco (+1.0%) and for automotive fuel in specialized stores (+1.7%), but decreased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.2%. In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased for food, drinks, tobacco (+0.8%), for non-food products (+0.1%) and for automotive fuel in specialized stores (+1.2%).
The annual drop in retail sales in the eurozone was caused by decline in trade in food, drinks and tobacco products (-0.6%) and non-food products (-1.4%). Meanwhile, the volume of retail trade increased for automotive fuel in specialized stores (+0.8%).
As for the EU countries, the largest annual decreases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Estonia (-6.7%), Belgium (-3.8%) and Finland (-2.9%). The highest increases were observed in Luxembourg (+7.2%), Romania (+6.7%) and Denmark (+5.9%).