The volume of retail trade dropped by 1.6 percent in January, the first month-on-month decrease in six months. Data by Eurostat shows that total retail trade fell by 5.1 percent in the EU in the first month this year, following an increase of 1.4 percent in December.
Austria and Ireland registered the sharpest declines among member states, falling by 16.6 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively. Only six countries experienced an increase in the volume of retail trade, with highest rise observed in Sweden (3.5%).
Compared with January 2020, the volume of retail trade decreased by 5.4 percent in the EU. Automotive fuels registered a drop of 15.7 percent over the period, the largest among the groupings, followed by non-food products (-11.5%). Meanwhile, food, drinks and tobacco rose by 5.4 percent while mail and internet orders grew by 40 percent.
