The volume of sales, excluding fuels, has increased by 12.3% in November 2021 compared to the same month last year.

In the same period, the sharpest increases were registered for ‘Other retail sale in non-specialised stores’, ‘Textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods in specialised stores’, ‘Retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores’ and ‘Cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores’, i.e. increases of 165.6%, 106.0%, 37.3% and 31.4%, respectively.

The sharpest decreases were observed in ‘Retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets’, ‘Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet’, ‘Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating’ and ‘Food, beverages and tobacco’, i.e. decreases of 15.0%, 13.2%, 4.1% and 2.3%, respectively.

Comparisons with November 2019

As 2020 was an atypical year, it seems relevant to compare the current results with those of November 2019. The sharpest increases were observed in ‘Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet’, ‘Retail trade not in stores, stalls or markets’, ‘Other household equipment in specialised stores’ and ‘Retail sale of non-food products (except fuel)’, i.e. increases of 39.5%, 26.1%, 18.3% and 12.8%.

The sharpest decreases were observed in ‘Retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores’, ‘Automotive fuel in specialised stores’, ‘Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating’ and ‘Food, beverages and tobacco’, i.e. decreases of 7.0%, 3.9%, 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

The volume of sales, excluding fuels, has increased by 6.4% in November 2021 compared to the same month in 2019.

These indices are expressed with reference year 2015=100.

From January 2021, following the new European FRIBS regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2152), breakdowns for retail trade have changed. Some breakdowns no longer exist and new ones have been implemented. Our methodology also changed: the main data source is the VAT declaration of enterprises to the FPS Finances, and no longer a survey. Only +/- 340 major enterprises continue to answer the survey. Indices have been recalculated since 2010 with the new methodology.