Press Release 07/05/2021

RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm). I/2021

This press release has been revised due to an error in the deflation process of the specialised food establishments series

Sales in the retail trade sector of the Basque Country were down 0.4% in the first quarter of 2021

In relation to the previous quarter, sales remained constant (0.0% variation)

In the first quarter of 2021 sales in the retail trade sector of the Basque Country fell by 0.4% 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, remained at the same level as in the previous quarter of 2020 (0.0% year-on-year variation).

Compared to the previous quarter, and once any seasonal effects had been eliminated, the sales index in the first quarter of 2021 remained unchanged (0.0% quarter-on-quarter variation)

By sectors, in relation to the first quarter of 2020 and once the price and calendar effects had been discounted, sales of Automotive Fuel fell by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2021, whereas Food sales were down 1.4%. As regards sales of Other Products, the trend was the opposite, increasing by 1.4%. It should be borne in mind that on 14 March 2020 a state of emergency was decreed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant retail trade sector activity changed significantly.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, in deseasonalised terms, Food sales fell by 0.6%, while sales of Automotive Fuel and Other Products increased by 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

Within the Food retail trade, Specialised trade in food, beverages and tobacco (establishments such as greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, etc.) shrank by 1.6% in relation to the first quarter of 2020, and retail trade that is Non-specialised with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (basically supermarkets and hypermarkets), decreased by 1.3%.

In retail trade of Other products, at constant prices and once corrected for calendar effects, the performance of sales in the first quarter of 2021 in relation to the same quarter of 2020 was disparate. Thus, specialised trade in Household goods which includes, among others, domestic appliances, furniture and telecommunications equipment, rose by 16.5% and specialised retail trade in Other consumer goods (books, stationary items, toys and sports items, for example), increased by 6.0%. Conversely, specialised trade in Personal goods (clothes, footwear and pharmaceutical products, for example) fell by 9.0% and Non-specialised trade with other products predominating was down 2.6%.

By province, the sales index for the first quarter of 2021 registered a year-on-year increase in the province of Álava of 4.0%, whereas in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia it was down by 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively. The month-on-month evolution was similar, but to a lesser degree, given that in Álava sales increased by 1.2%, whereas in Bizkaia they were down 0.3% and in Gipuzkoa sales fell by 0.1%.

The number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country overall in the first quarter of 2021 was down 4.4% on the first quarter of the previous year. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, there was a drop of 1.3%.

NOTE:

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) (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 with gathering information. As a result, the index for the first quarter was calculated with 93.3% 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