Press Release 27/04/2021

LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY. MARCH 2021

Sales in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country recovered by 9.5% in March 2021

In the accumulated total for the first three months of 2021, sales were up 1.9%

Sales at large stores and food chains in the Basque Country in March 2021 experienced a year-on-year increase at constant prices of 9.5%, according to Eustat data. Compared to the previous month, February 2021, sales were up 9.1% in deseasonalised terms.

The performance of sales at these establishments by type of product was uneven, both in month-on-month and year-on-year terms

In March 2021, sales of food products at large stores and food chains increased by 3.7% compared to February 2021, while there was a sharper increase, of 22.2%, in sales of other products. Part of this disparity in month-on-month performance is due to the varying effect on sales of food and other products of closures of municipal perimeters in the Basque Country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in February and March 2021.

Sales increased compared to the previous month in all three provinces. Sales were up 12.1% in Gipuzkoa, 8.7% in Bizkaia and, lastly, 4.6% in Álava.

Compared to March 2020, sales of food products at large stores and food chains fell by 5.2%. In the case of other items, the trend was reversed, with a considerable increase of 70.6% compared to March 2020. Once again it should be remembered that, in March 2020, as a result of the state of alarm declared on 14 March, the sale of food products and the sale of other products were unevenly restricted.

By province, Bizkaia saw the largest increase of 13.5%, followed by Álava, with 12.7%, in the year-on-year comparison. In the case of Gipuzkoa, sales were up but to a lesser degree, by 1.7%.

In January, February and March 2021 overall, the sales index in large stores and food chains recovered by 1.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. The increase was larger in other products (4.0%) than in food (1.0%).

By province, the overall variation in the year so far was positive in the case of Álava (5.0%) and Bizkaia (3.6%), while in Gipuzkoa it was negative, with a decrease of 2.3%.

Lastly, the number of people employed in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country rose by 1.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. It was also down 0.8% on the previous month. In the accumulated total for the first three months of 2021, an increase of 0.8% was observed.

NOTE:

Year-on-year variations are calculated using the series corrected for calendar effects and the month-on-month variations are calculated using the deseasonalised series.

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.

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) in its methodological note Guidance on Time Series Treatment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in preparing the Large Stores and Food Chains Trade Index. As a result, the March index was calculated with a 95% coverage of the sample - whose information was collected during April.

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