Turnover in the retail sector rose by 1.5 % in nominal terms in July 2019 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 0.1 % compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Real turnover in the retail sector also adjusted for sales days and holidays rose by 1.4 % in July 2019 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered a decline of 0.1 %.
Retail sector excluding service stations
Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 1.7 % increase in nominal turnover in July 2019 compared with July 2018 (in real terms +1.7 %). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered an increase in nominal turnover of 0.7 % (in real terms +1.0 %), whereas the non-food sector registered a nominal plus of 2.5 % (in real terms +2.4 %).
Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted increase in nominal turnover of 0.3 % compared with the previous month (in real terms +0.2 %). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered a nominal minus of 0.1 % (in real terms +0.2 %). The non-food sector showed a plus of 0.6 % (in real terms +0.5 %).
The retail trade turnover statistics are based on a random sample of approximately 4000 businesses. It is a monthly survey, with small-sized companies being asked to provide monthly turnover figures on a quarterly basis.
The statistics are based on the General Classification of Economic Activities (NOGA) from the year 2008, which meets international standards and classifies businesses into different economic activities based on their economic activities.