Sales in the Brazilian retail trade grew 1% in March compared to February, informed the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) this Tuesday (10th). It is the third consecutive month of growth. Thus, the sector closes the first quarter with a rise of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2021.
In comparison with March last year, the indicator had a high of 4%.
According to the institute, in the expanded retail trade, which includes, in addition to retail, the activities of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and construction material, the volume of sales increased by 0.7% compared to February.
For the research manager, Cristiano Santos, the third consecutive increase calls attention, as this did not happen from May to October 2020 (five consecutive months), a period of trade recovery after the large drops recorded in the pandemic.
“These three months of highs mean a strong quarter, although growth is still not homogeneous across all activities,” he said.
From February to March, six of the eight activities showed a rise. The main increases were in equipment and supplies for office, information technology and communication and for other articles of personal and domestic use, with increases of 13.9% and 3.4%, respectively. In the latter, Cristiano said that there was a good contribution from department stores.
“The large retailers began to rehearse a resumption of physical stores, with expansion mainly in the Northeast and North, but across the country”.
In the office and computer supplies sector, the movement is one of repositioning after a few months of decline, informed the expert. “Great promotions were captured, since the dollar did not appreciate against the real in the period, on the contrary. As a result, articles of this nature tend to become more accessible”, explains Cristiano.
Other sectors that increased in March were books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (4.7%), fuels and lubricants (0.4%), furniture and household appliances (0.2%) and textiles, apparel and footwear (0. 1%). Hyper, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco had a reduction of 0.2% in the volume of sales and pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles fell by 5.9%.
In the annual comparison, the increase covers seven of the eight activities
In comparison with March last year, the 4% increase in retail sales volume reached seven of the eight activities. According to the IBGE, the biggest growth was in the textile, clothing and footwear sector, with an increase of 81.3%, which presented the third consecutive increase and, in March, made the biggest contribution among all activities.
Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (36.1%), other articles for personal and domestic use (8.9%), computer and communication office equipment and supplies (16.2% ), furniture and household appliances (6.7%), fuels and lubricants (6%) and pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (1.5%).
Only hyper, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco had a fall, with a reduction of 3.4%.
Considering the expanded retail trade, the 4.5% increase in sales compared to March 2021 was followed by both vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (7.3%) and construction material (1.2%).
Sales grow in 19 federation units
From February to March, 19 federation units had a rise, especially Goiás (3%), Roraima (2.8%) and Pernambuco (2.5%).
In the field of falls, there were seven FUs, with Amazonas (-3.2%) marking the biggest reduction, followed by Distrito Federal (-1.5%) and Bahia (-1.2%).
Pará presented stability.
Source: CNN Brasil
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