According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays fell in the retail sector by 0.9% in nominal terms in January 2021 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover fell by 4.9% compared with the previous month. The economic sectors were affected to varying degrees.

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays fell in the retail sector by 0.5% in January 2021 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Economists had expected a 4.5% increase. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered a decline of 5.3%.

While retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco recorded an increase in nominal turnover of 13.7% (in real terms +13.9%) the non-food sector registered a nominal minus of 10.4% (in real terms –10.1%). 

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations registered a 1.0% growth in nominal turnover in January 2021 compared with January 2020 (+1.3% in real terms). The result for service stations was a loss of turnover of 22.2% (in real terms –16.4%).

Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted decline in nominal turnover of 5.1% compared with the previous month (in real terms –5.5%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered a nominal minus of 1.2% (in real terms –0.9%). The non-food sector showed a minus of 11.0% (in real terms –11.6%).