According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 21.5% in nominal terms in March 2021 compared with the previous year. This sharp increase is mainly due to the low value for March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic first began to filter through. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 21.9% compared with the previous month.

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 22.6% in March 2021 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered an increase of 22.1%.

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 22.3% increase in nominal turnover in March 2021 compared with March 2020 (in real terms +23.5%). Service stations recorded a nominal turnover increase of 10.9% (real +2.0%).

Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered an increase in nominal turnover of 7.0% (in real terms +8.5%), whereas the non-food sector registered a nominal plus of 39.9% (in real terms +41.1%). All sectors recorded strong increases.

Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted increase in nominal turnover of 23.3% compared with the previous month (in real terms +23.6%).