In December 2020, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose by 2.0% in the euro area and by 1.4% the EU, compared with November 2020, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In November 2020, the retail trade volume fell by 5.7 % in the Euro Area and by 4.9 % in the EU.
In December 2020 compared with December 2019, the calendar adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.6 % in the euro area and by 0.5 % in the EU.
The annual average retail trade for the year 2020, compared with 2019, fell by 1.2 % in the euro area and by 0.8 % in the EU.
Monthly comparison by retail sector and by Member State
In the Euro Area in December 2020, compared with November 2020, the volume of retail trade increased by 5.1 % for automotive fuels, by 1.9 % for food, drinks and tobacco and by 1.5 % for non-food products (within this category textile, clothing and footwear increased by 12.4 %). In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased by 4.0 % for automotive fuels, by 1.7 % for food, drinks and tobacco and by 0.7 % for non-food products (textile, clothing and footwear +10.0 %).
Among Member States for which data are available, the highest increases in the total retail trade volume were observed in France (+22.3 %), Belgium (+15.9 %) and Ireland (+11.4 %). The largest decreases were registered in the Netherlands (-10.9 %), Germany (-9.6 %) and Denmark (-8.0 %).
Retail Trade Volume
In December 2020, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose by 2.0% in the euro area and by 1.4% the EU, compared with November 2020, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In November 2020, the retail trade volume fell by 5.7% in the euro area and by 4.9% in the EU.
In December 2020 compared with December 2019, the calendar adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU.
The annual average retail trade for the year 2020, compared with 2019, fell by 1.2 % in the Euro Area and by 0.8 % in the EU.
Methods and definitions
The index of the volume of retail trade measures the evolution of the turnover in retail trade, adjusted for price changes (deflated), i.e. the evolution of the total amount of goods sold, based on data adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects.
Seasonal adjustment is a statistical method for removing the effects of recurring seasonal influences, which have been observed in the past from an economic time series, thus showing non-seasonal trends more clearly. Calendar adjustment is a statistical method for removing the variation caused by the changing number of particular weekdays or holidays in different months or other time periods (quarters, years). The annual comparisons are based on data adjusted for calendar effects only.
Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data. Eurostat carries out the seasonal adjustment of the data for those countries that do not adjust their data for seasonal effects.
Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the euro area and the EU aggregates.