Press Release 08/02/2021
RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm). IV/2021
Retail trade sales in the Basque Country rose by 3.6% in 2021 as a whole
In the fourth quarter of 2021, sales were also up 3.3% compared to the same quarter of 2020
In the balance for 2021, retail trade sales increased by 3.6% with regard to the previous year, in homogeneous terms of the working calendar and at constant prices, according to Eustat data. If service stations are excluded, cumulative sales for the year grew by 3.3% in the same terms.
In the cumulative total for 2021, food sales dropped by 3.2%, whilst trade in other products performed positively, increasing by 9.8% compared to the previous year as a whole. Meanwhile, sales of automotive fuel rose by 8.2%.
Within the food retail trade, specialised trade grew by 0.8% over the course of 2021 compared to 2020, whilst non-specialised retail trade with food predominating fell by 4.9%.
As regards retail trade of other products, in the cumulative total for 2021, the performance was mainly positive. In effect, sales in specialised trade in household goods increased by 19.4%, sales in specialised trade in personal goods rose by 7.3% and those in specialised trade in other consumer goods were up 5.8%. Conversely, in non-specialised trade with a predominance of other products, sales were down 0.1% in 2021 as a whole in relation to the previous year.
All three provinces saw a rise in sales at constant prices over the course of 2021, albeit to varying degrees. Thus, Gipuzkoa registered the largest increase with growth of 5.4%, followed by Bizkaia with 3.3% and, lastly, Álava with 1.1%.
Finally, the rise in employment in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country in 2021 compared to the average for the previous year stood at 0.9%.
Retail Trade Index in the Basque Country. Inter-annual and inter-mensual variation rates (p). 2021/IV
| | Constant prices |
| | t / t-4 | t / t-1 | A (t) / A (t-4) |
| SALES INDEX by historic territory | | | |
| Basque Country | 3,3 | 1,1 | 3,6 |
| Araba/Álava | -4,7 | -0,9 | 1,1 |
| Bizkaia | 3,2 | 0,9 | 3,3 |
| Gipuzkoa | 7,3 | 2,3 | 5,4 |
| | | | |
| SALES INDEX by sector | | | |
| Foodstuffs | -1,7 | 0,2 | -3,2 |
| Establishments specialized in food | 6,0 | 0,4 | 0,8 |
| Nonspecialist establishments mainly selling food products | -5,1 | 1,6 | -4,9 |
| Rest of products | 8,0 | 4,0 | 9,8 |
| Establishments specialising in personal equipment | 17,1 | 2,1 | 7,3 |
| Establishments specialising in household equipment | 11,1 | 3,3 | 19,4 |
| Establishments specialising in other consumer goods | 1,2 | 2,3 | 5,8 |
| Nonspecialist establishments mainly selling other products | -8,3 | 1,0 | -0,1 |
| Automotive fuel | 3,4 | 0,8 | 8,2 |
| | | | |
| GENERAL INDEX without service station | 3,3 | 2,2 | 3,3 |
| | | | |
| PERSONNEL INDEX | | | |
| Basque Country | 2,9 | -0,1 | 0,9 |
(p)Provisional data
t / t-4 Year-on-year variation. Data corrected for calendar effects
t / t-1 Interquarterly variation. Deseasonalised data
At / A(t-4) Year-on-year variation rate in the accumulated period from the 1st quarter to the last quarter observed (At) with regards to the same accumulated period in the previous year (A(t-4))
Date Februay 8, 2022
Source: Eustat. Retail Trade Index (ICIm)
Looking at the data from the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, the retail trade sector in the Basque Country saw a 3.3% increase in sales at constant prices compared to the same period of the previous year, once corrected for calendar effects. Sales in the sector, not including service stations, were also up 3.3% in year-on-year terms.
Compared to the previous quarter, the sales index showed a positive quarter-on-quarter variation of 1.1%, also at constant prices and once seasonal effects had been eliminated.
By sector, food sales dropped by 1.7% in year-on-year terms in the fourth quarter of 2021, whilst retail trade sales of other products and sales of automotive fuel rose by 8.0% and 3.4%, respectively.
Within the food retail trade, specialised trade increased by 6.0% in year-on-year terms in the last quarter of the year, whereas non-specialised retail trade with food predominating fell by 5.1%.
Retail trade of other products saw a positive year-on-year performance in the majority of sectors. Sales in specialised trade in personal goods grew by 17.1%, sales in specialised trade in household goods rose by 11.1% and those in specialised trade in other consumer goods were up 1.2%. As regards non-specialised trade with other products predominating, sales decreased by 8.3%.
The evolution in retail trade sales in year-on-year terms varied by province. Sales increased by 7.3% in Gipuzkoa and 3.2% in Bizkaia. In Álava, however, sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 were down 4.7% on those observed in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Lastly, the number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country as a whole in the fourth quarter of 2021 rose by 2.9% in relation to the fourth quarter of the previous year. Compared to the third quarter of 2021, however, there was a drop of 0.1%.
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) 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 fourth quarter was calculated with 95.4% 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