Press Release 08/08/2024
RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm). II/2024
Sales in the retail trade sector in the Basque Country rose by 0.9% in the second quarter of 2024
In the cumulative total for the first six months of the year, sales increased by 1.2%
Sales in the retail sector in the Basque Country rose by 0.9% in the second 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 increase in sales was 1.5%.
In respect of the previous quarter, once seasonal effects had been eliminated, the sales index increased by 0.2% during the second quarter of 2024.
Sales at constant prices in Food products increased by 4.4% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Conversely, in the Other products sector, there was a year-on-year decrease in sales of 1.7% during the second quarter of 2024. Lastly, in the Automotive Fuel sector, sales were down 6.1% on those observed in the same quarter of the previous year.
In relation to the first quarter of 2024, in deseasonalised terms and at constant prices, Food sales rose by 2.6%. However, in Other Products and Automotive Fuel, sales decreased in quarter-on-quarter terms, by 0.9% and 4.7% respectively.
Retail Trade Index in the Basque Country. Inter-annual and inter-mensual variation rates (p). 2024/II
| | Constant prices |
| | t / t-4 | t / t-1 | At / At-4 |
| SALES INDEX by historic territory | | | |
| Basque Country | 0,9 | 0,2 | 1,2 |
| Araba/Álava | 0,1 | -0,6 | 0,6 |
| Bizkaia | 0,8 | 0,4 | 1,0 |
| Gipuzkoa | 1,4 | 0,3 | 1,7 |
| | | | |
| SALES INDEX by sector | | | |
| Foodstuffs | 4,4 | 2,6 | 3,7 |
| Establishments specialized in food | 5,0 | 1,9 | 2,6 |
| Nonspecialist establishments mainly selling food products | 4,2 | 2,5 | 4,1 |
| Rest of products | -1,7 | -0,9 | -1,0 |
| Establishments specialising in personal equipment | 0,4 | 0,0 | 1,1 |
| Establishments specialising in household equipment | -2,6 | -0,2 | -5,2 |
| Establishments specialising in other consumer goods | -7,8 | -1,9 | -4,0 |
| Nonspecialist establishments mainly selling other products | 2,3 | 0,4 | 4,8 |
| Automotive fuel | -6,1 | -4,7 | -2,7 |
| | | | |
| GENERAL INDEX without service station | 1,6 | 1,0 | 1,5 |
| | | | |
| PERSONNEL INDEX | | | |
| Basque Country | 0,8 | 0,1 | 1,4 |
(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 August 8, 2024
Source: Eustat. Retail Trade Index (ICIm)
Within the Food Products retail trade, sales in Specialised trade in food, beverages and tobacco (establishments such as greengrocers, butchers and fishmongers) increased by 5% in relation to the second quarter of 2023. Sales in retail trade that is Non-specialised with food, beverages and tobacco predominating (primarily supermarkets and hypermarkets), increased by 4.2% in year-on-year terms.
Within the retail trade of Other Products, sales in the Specialised trade in other consumer goods sector (including, for example, sporting goods, games and toys) were down 7.8% compared to the second quarter of the previous year. In the Specialised trade in household goods sector (including domestic appliances, furniture and telecommunications equipment), sales fell by 2.6% in year-on-year terms.
However, in the Specialised trade in personal goods sector (clothes, footwear, cosmetic and hygiene products) sales increased in year-on-year terms by 0.4%, and in the Non-specialised trade with other products predominating (mail order or online) sector by 2.3%.
By province, the sales index in the second quarter of 2024 registered a year-on-year increase in all provinces. The index rose by 0.1% in Álava, 1.4% in Gipuzkoa and finally, by 0.8% in Bizkaia.
In relation to the previous quarter, the evolution in sales was negative in Álava and positive in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. In Álava the drop in sales compared to the first quarter of 2024 was 0.6%, whereas the increases in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia were 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
The number of busy staff in the retail trade sector for the Basque Country as a whole in the second quarter of 2024 rose by 0.8% in relation to the second quarter of the previous year. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, employment rose by 0.1%.
BALANCE OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024
The cumulative total for the first six months of the year registered a 1.2% rise in sales, an increase that extended to all three provinces: sales were up 0.6% in Álava, 1.0% in Bizkaia and 1.7% in Gipuzkoa.
In Food, the cumulative sales total registered a rise of 3.7% while in Other products the cumulative variation was negative, down 1.0%. The Automotive Fuel sector registered a drop of 2.7%. Within Other Products, only the Specialised trade in personal goods and Non-specialised trade with other products predominating (mail order or online) sectors registered positive variations in the cumulative total for the first quarter of 1.1% and 4.8%, respectively.
NOTE
The reference year for the Retail Trade Index has been updated, with 2021 becoming the new base year for the index. The process of changing the base year has also resulted in a substantial update to the methodology: among other aspects, the validation and allocation methods have been revised and the population under study has been modified. As a result, the series that form part of the index have also been updated.
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.
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 96.02% 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