Spain was the country that suffered the biggest monthly fall in retail sales in March, with a decline of 4%. In the euro area as a whole, the contraction was 0.4% compared with the previous month, when it had risen by 0.4 percentage points. Meanwhile, in the EU as a whole it fell by 0.2%, after having risen by 0.3% in February.
The data published today by Eurostat also shows that in the euro area the volume of retail trade decreased by 2.9% for motor fuels compared with the previous month, and by 1.2% for non-food products. It increased by 0.8% for food, beverages and tobacco.
In the EU, retail trade volume decreased by 3.0% for motor fuels and by 0.7% for non-food products; however, it grew by 0.6% for food, beverages and tobacco.
These figures reflect that, in the face of the inflationary pressures of the last few months – accentuated by the war in Ukraine since end-February – consumers have reduced their spending and only trade in foodstuffs has grown.
In this context, Spain was the country where retail sales fell the most, contracting by 4%. It was followed by Luxembourg (-3.3%) and France (-1.9%) with the largest monthly falls in retail sales, according to the available data.
On the other hand, the largest increases compared to February were observed in Slovenia (+11.4%), Latvia (+11.1%), and Hungary (+7.3%).
