According to the report from Istat, in May 2019, estimates of retail trade saw a fall of 0.7% in value terms in the month-on-month series, that is the fourth consecutive month of no positive growth. Economists had expected a 0.2% increase. Likewise, the quantity sold decreased by 0.8%.

In the three months to May 2019, both value and volume of retail trade were down 0.4% and 0.5% respectively when compared to the previous three months (Dec 2018 – Feb 2019).

Value of sales contracted by 1.8% year-on-year in May 2019, while volume of sales fell by 1.5%.

After strong sales reported in April 2019, large scale distribution decreased by 0.4% year-on-year. Small scale distribution also saw a contraction, dropping by 3.6%.

Year-on-year online sales continued to grow, however value of internet sales fell slightly to 10.6% in May 2019 from the 17.1% reported in April 2019.