Retail sales grow 18% in March, industry index shows

Retail sales grew 18.0% in March 2022, discounting inflation, compared to the same month in 2021, according to a survey by the Cielo do Varejo Ampliado Index (ICVA).

In nominal terms, which mirror the sales revenue observed by the retailer, the index increased by 33.4%.

The expressive growth, according to the survey, is strongly related to the comparative base. In March last year, trade was affected by the adoption of more restrictive isolation measures, resulting from the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Calendar effects, on the other hand, harmed the index result. The main factor was Carnival, celebrated in March while in 2021 the date fell in February.

Not even the fact that there was one more Thursday, traditionally a day of strong sales in the commerce, could compensate for the fall caused by Carnival.

Disregarding calendar adjustments, the nominal index grew by 34.9% and, discounting inflation, 19.3%.

In a note, Cielo’s Head of Intelligence, Pedro Lippi, says that even with the significant increase in sales recorded in March, retail has not yet returned to the level seen before the pandemic.

“Our index, when deflated, shows that sales are still 6.4% down. The service sectors, such as Tourism and Transport and Bars and Restaurants, despite the growth observed in recent months, are still below the pre-pandemic period, as well as the Clothing sector”, he says.

According to the executive, even in the face of this scenario, it is possible to say that Retail is in the process of recovery.

“March was the fifth month in a row with an increase”, he highlights.

sectors

Discounting inflation and with the calendar adjustment, the macro-sectors of Durable and Semi-durable Goods and Services recorded acceleration in sales in relation to February. Nondurable Goods, on the other hand, slowed down.

The highlight in the Durable and Semi-Durable Goods macro-sector was the Apparel segment. In the Non-Durable Goods macro-sector, one of the segments that most contributed to the acceleration was Tourism and Transport.

The Non-Durable Goods macro-sector, which decelerated, was negatively impacted by the Drugstores and Pharmacies segment.

Regions

According to the deflated and calendar-adjusted ICVA, all regions showed growth in relation to last year’s milestone. The South region recorded an increase of 24.1%, followed by the Central-West (+24.0%), North (+20.3%), Northeast (+19.4%) and Southeast (+18.2% ).

According to the nominal ICVA with calendar adjustment compared to March 2021, sales in the Midwest region grew 39.1%, followed by the South (+38.2%), Northeast (+36.0%), Southeast (+33.3%) and North (+31.5%).