Press Release 08/05/2024

RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm). I/2024

Sales in the retail trade sector of the Basque Country fell by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024

Compared to the previous quarter, sales were down 0.4%

Sales in the retail sector in the Basque Country fell by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, once corrected for calendar effects and at constant prices, according to Eustat data. Without taking service stations into consideration, the year-on-year decrease in sales was 0.2%.

In respect of the previous quarter, once seasonal effects had been eliminated, the sales index fell by 0.4% during the first quarter of 2024.

Sales at constant prices in Food products increased by 0.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Conversely, in the Other products sector, there was a year-on-year decrease in sales of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024. Lastly, in the Automotive Fuel sector, sales were down 9.1% on those observed in the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the fourth quarter of 2023, in deseasonalised terms and at constant prices, Food sales rose by 0.3%. However, in Other Products and Automotive Fuel, sales decreased in year-on-year terms, by 0.1% and 1.9% respectively.

Within the Food Products retail trade, sales in Specialised trade in food, beverages and tobacco (establishments such as greengrocers, butchers and fishmongers) decreased by 0.3% in relation to the first quarter of 2023. By contrast, retail trade that is Non-specialised with food, beverages and tobacco predominating (primarily supermarkets and hypermarkets), increased its sales by 0.4% in year-on-year terms.

In the retail trade of Other Products, sales in the Specialised trade in other consumer goods sector (including, for example, sporting goods, games and toys) rose by 2.2% compared to the first quarter of the previous year. In the Specialised trade in personal goods sector (clothes, footwear, cosmetic and hygiene products), the year-on-year increase in sales was 1.8% and there was a 1.4% rise in the Non-specialised trade with other products predominating (mail order or online) sector. In the Specialised trade in household goods sector (including domestic appliances, furniture and telecommunications equipment), sales performed differently, with a year-on-year decrease of 4.3%.

By province, the sales index in the first quarter of 2024 registered a year-on-year decrease in all provinces. The index rose by 1.9% in Álava, 0.9% in Gipuzkoa and finally, by 0.5% in Bizkaia.

Compared to the previous quarter, the evolution in sales was negative in all three provinces. In relation to the fourth quarter of 2023, sales fell by 1.3% in Álava, 0.4% in Gipuzkoa and, lastly, by 0.1% in Bizkaia.

The number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country as a whole in the first quarter of 2024 rose by 1.5% in relation to the first quarter of the previous year. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, employment rose by 0.1%.

NOTE

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated with gathering information. As a result, the index for this quarter was calculated with 80.0% coverage of the sample.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62