Press release 03/08/2020

RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm). II/2020

Sales in the retail trade sector of the Basque Country were down 15.5% in the second quarter of 2020

Food sales were up 5.3%, whereas sales of other products fell by 31.0%

In the second quarter of 2020 sales in the retail trade sector of the Basque Country were down 15.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, once corrected for calendar effects and at constant prices, according to Eustat data. Sales in the sector, not including service stations, were down in the same terms by 13.7%.

Compared to the first quarter of 2020, and once the corresponding seasonal effects had been eliminated, the sales index in the second quarter of 2020 fell by 12.1% in constant prices.

By sectors, food sales were up by 5.3%, while retail trade sales of other products shrank by 31.0% and sales of automotive fuel decreased by 34.1%, all with regards to the same period in 2019 and once the price and calendar effects had been discounted.

In the retail food sector, specialised trade in food, beverages and tobacco contracted by 6.6% (establishments such as greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, etc.), while non-specialised retail trade with food, beverages or tobacco predominating increased by 11.3% (mainly supermarkets and hypermarkets).

In retail trade of other products, there was generalised fall in sales in relation to the same quarter of 2019, at constant prices and once corrected for calendar effects. Thus, specialised trade in personal goods (clothes, footwear and pharmaceutical products, for example) was down 32.4%, and specialised trade in household goods which includes, among others, domestic appliances, furniture and telecommunications equipment, fell by 27.6% Specialised retail trade in other consumer goods (books, stationary items, games and sports items, for example), shrank by 32.6% and non-specialised trade with other products predominating (other retail trade in non-specialised establishments and by mail order or online) fell by 32.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

By provinces, in Álava the sales index registered a year-on-year decrease of 10.0%, while in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa there were more pronounced drops of 14.1% and 20.1%, respectively.

The number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country overall in the second quarter of 2020 was down 2.1% on the second quarter of the previous year. Compared to the first quarter of 2020, there was a drop of 2.0%.

Included as persons employed considered in this and other short-term indices, are those covered by an ERTE (Temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plan), following the definition of persons employed indicated by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) in its manual Methodology of Short Term Business Statistics.

NOTE ON THE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS ON THE LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX

The state of alarm declared in Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March in order to manage the health crisis caused by COVID-19 ended on 21 June. The exceptional measures adopted during the state of alarm have had a direct impact on the establishments that participate in ICI Retail.

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in making this effort despite the extraordinary circumstances. As a result, the index for the second quarter was calculated with 89.12% coverage of the sample - whose information was collected during July.

The models used in the correction of calendar effects and deseasonalisation of the series include the effect of COVID-19 on the variables studied, following the recommendations of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) (Eurostat) in its methodological note Guidance on Time Series Treatment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

For further information:

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