Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (2024)

Euro indicators 7 May 2024 Next release: 6 June 2024

March 2024 compared with February 2024

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Up by 0.7% in the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU compared with March 2023

Overview

In March 2024, compared with February 2024, the seasonally adjusted retail trade volume increased by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In February 2024, retail trade volume fell by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU.

In March 2024 compared with March 2023, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 0.7% the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU.

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (1)

Monthly comparison by retail sector and by Member State

In the euro area in March 2024, compared with February 2024, the volume of retail trade

  • increased for food, drinks, tobacco by 1.2%,

  • remained stable for non-food products (except automotive fuel),

  • increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 2.0%.

In the EU, the volume of retail trade

  • increased for food, drinks, tobacco by 0.8%,

  • increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.5%,

  • increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 1.5%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Poland (+7.3%), Cyprus (+4.8%) and Hungary (+2.0%). The largest decreases were observed in Sweden (-1.8%), Malta (-1.0%) and Austria (-0.8%).

Annual comparison by retail sector and by Member State

In the euro area in March 2024, compared with March 2023, the volume of retail trade

In the EU, the volume of retail trade

  • increased for food, drinks, tobacco by 1.0%,

  • increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 3.0%,

  • decreased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 0.5%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Poland (+14.8%), Luxembourg (+10.3%) and Croatia (+8.9%). The largest decreases were observed in Belgium (-4.6%), Estonia (-2.3%) and Austria (-2.0%).

Tables

Volume of retail trade

% change compared with the previous month*

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

Total retail trade

0.3

0.4

-0.5

0.2

-0.3

0.8

Food, drinks, tobacco

-0.6

-0.1

-0.6

0.5

-0.5

1.2

Non-food products (except automotive fuel)

0.8

0.2

-0.6

0.4

0.3

0.0

Automotive fuel in specialised stores

0.1

1.8

0.5

0.4

-0.9

2.0

EU

Total retail trade

0.4

0.3

-0.4

0.2

-0.1

1.2

Food, drinks, tobacco

-0.5

-0.1

-0.4

0.4

-0.4

0.8

Non-food products (except automotive fuel)

0.9

0.3

-0.7

0.6

0.3

0.5

Automotive fuel in specialised stores

0.7

0.5

0.7

0.1

0.4

1.5

* Calendar and seasonally adjusted

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (2)

Volume of retail trade

% change compared with the previous month*

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

0.3

0.4

-0.5

0.2

-0.3

0.8

EU

0.4

0.3

-0.4

0.2

-0.1

1.2

Belgium

-0.5

0.9

-1.9

-0.7

-1.9

0.5

Bulgaria

0.8

0.4

-0.7

0.8

0.4

-0.6

Czechia

0.9

0.4

0.1

1.3

-0.9

c

Denmark

0.1

1.0

-0.3

-1.6

1.5

0.6

Germany

1.0

-0.6

-0.3

-0.1

-1.6

1.8

Estonia

0.1

-1.0

0.2

-2.3

1.1

0.5

Ireland

-0.2

0.1

1.2

0.0

0.2

0.0

Greece

-2.2

1.0

2.1

-4.3

-3.8

c

Spain

0.5

1.2

-0.8

-0.5

0.5

-0.6

France

-0.1

1.1

-0.7

0.9

0.4

1.1

Croatia

1.2

0.9

0.6

0.7

1.2

-0.1

Italy

0.3

0.2

-0.7

c

c

c

Cyprus

0.0

0.9

0.2

1.4

-1.2

4.8

Latvia

2.3

0.4

0.6

-1.4

0.4

1.0

Lithuania

0.2

1.0

0.1

0.8

0.8

1.2

Luxembourg

1.1

1.9

2.9

3.4

-3.0

0.9

Hungary

-0.1

0.9

1.5

0.1

-0.3

2.0

Malta

0.1

1.2

-1.2

0.0

0.6

-1.0

Netherlands

0.2

0.7

-0.4

1.4

0.7

-0.4

Austria

-0.8

0.7

-1.7

1.0

0.3

-0.8

Poland

0.2

-0.7

-0.8

-0.1

1.4

7.3

Portugal

-0.6

0.5

0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0.0

Romania

1.1

1.7

-0.4

4.6

c

c

Slovenia

1.0

0.3

-0.3

-1.3

0.0

1.9

Slovakia

1.6

0.0

1.7

-1.1

0.8

-0.6

Finland

0.3

0.0

-0.9

0.2

0.1

0.2

Sweden

2.3

-1.2

-0.5

0.2

2.8

-1.8

Norway

0.3

0.4

-1.0

-0.1

0.2

0.3

Switzerland

0.1

0.5

-0.2

0.8

0.1

-0.4

* Calendar and seasonally adjusted

c Confidential

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (3)

Volume of retail trade

% change compared with the same month of the previous year*

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

Total retail trade

-1.2

-0.6

-0.6

-0.7

-0.5

0.7

Food, drinks, tobacco

-1.0

-0.5

-0.1

-1.2

-1.2

1.1

Non-food products (except automotive fuel)

-0.1

0.3

-0.2

-0.6

0.4

0.8

Automotive fuel in specialised stores

-5.4

-3.1

-3.6

0.7

-1.5

-0.6

EU

Total retail trade

-1.0

-0.6

-0.5

-0.6

0.0

2.0

Food, drinks, tobacco

-1.0

-0.6

0.2

-0.8

-0.7

1.0

Non-food products (except automotive fuel)

0.3

0.6

-0.2

-0.4

1.0

3.0

Automotive fuel in specialised stores

-5.0

-4.5

-5.2

-0.3

-0.9

-0.5

* Calendar adjusted

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (4)

Volume of retail trade

% change compared with the same month of the previous year*

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

-1.2

-0.6

-0.6

-0.7

-0.5

0.7

EU

-1.0

-0.6

-0.5

-0.6

0.0

2.0

Belgium

-4.3

-2.6

-3.7

-3.8

-6.8

-4.6

Bulgaria

3.4

3.1

0.8

-0.1

3.1

0.4

Czechia

-1.8

-0.2

1.2

3.3

1.6

c

Denmark

1.9

2.6

4.8

0.7

2.2

3.6

Germany

0.1

-1.6

-0.7

-1.1

-2.3

0.2

Estonia

-5.1

-8.5

-4.3

-6.7

-3.5

-2.3

Ireland

0.5

-0.1

1.5

1.2

1.1

1.2

Greece

-6.1

-4.3

0.8

-9.6

-9.8

c

Spain

2.2

3.9

2.6

0.3

1.8

0.4

France

-2.4

0.3

-0.6

0.4

1.3

2.2

Croatia

6.0

6.8

8.5

7.9

9.2

8.9

Italy

-2.5

-2.3

-2.3

c

c

c

Cyprus

2.9

3.3

3.7

4.8

0.5

6.7

Latvia

0.2

-0.5

1.2

-1.6

-0.3

2.8

Lithuania

-0.5

0.3

3.3

-0.7

2.6

5.6

Luxembourg

9.1

9.7

6.7

13.4

8.6

10.3

Hungary

-6.5

-5.5

-0.3

0.6

1.7

4.2

Malta

0.6

5.4

-0.4

1.4

3.9

-1.2

Netherlands

-0.5

-0.5

0.6

1.1

2.6

3.7

Austria

-3.0

-2.0

-3.9

-2.1

-1.2

-2.0

Poland

0.8

-1.1

-2.7

-2.1

1.1

14.8

Portugal

-0.1

1.4

0.7

0.2

0.7

0.4

Romania

0.8

3.4

1.5

7.5

c

c

Slovenia

-3.8

-5.1

-3.3

-1.8

-3.9

-0.5

Slovakia

-1.3

-1.7

-3.3

1.7

4.1

1.2

Finland

-2.7

-2.5

-1.6

-2.4

-2.2

-0.3

Sweden

-0.8

-3.5

-3.0

-3.0

2.5

0.9

Norway

-1.1

-1.5

-0.3

-1.1

-0.3

0.6

Switzerland

-2.0

-1.2

-0.1

0.3

0.1

-0.2

* Calendar adjusted

c Confidential

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (5)

Volume of retail trade, calendar and seasonally adjusted indices

(base year 2021)

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

98.8

99.2

98.7

98.9

98.6

99.4

EU

99.2

99.5

99.1

99.3

99.2

100.4

Belgium

87.9

88.7

87.0

86.4

84.8

85.2

Bulgaria

106.8

107.2

106.5

107.4

107.8

107.1

Czechia

92.3

92.7

92.8

94.0

93.2

c

Denmark

93.6

94.5

94.2

92.7

94.1

94.7

Germany

96.7

96.1

95.8

95.7

94.2

95.9

Estonia

93.3

92.4

92.6

90.5

91.5

92.0

Ireland

100.4

100.5

101.7

101.7

101.9

101.9

Greece

96.9

97.9

100.0

95.7

92.1

c

Spain

104.8

106.1

105.2

104.7

105.2

104.6

France

100.6

101.7

101.0

101.9

102.3

103.4

Croatia

107.2

108.2

108.9

109.7

111.0

110.9

Italy

97.7

97.9

97.2

c

c

c

Cyprus

109.6

110.6

110.8

112.3

111.0

116.3

Latvia

102.6

103.0

103.6

102.1

102.5

103.5

Lithuania

98.8

99.8

99.9

100.7

101.5

102.7

Luxembourg

106.3

108.3

111.4

115.2

111.7

112.7

Hungary

96.3

97.2

98.7

98.8

98.5

100.5

Malta

112.6

114.0

112.6

112.6

113.3

112.2

Netherlands

99.7

100.4

100.0

101.4

102.1

101.7

Austria

94.8

95.5

93.9

94.8

95.1

94.3

Poland

108.1

107.3

106.4

106.3

107.8

115.7

Portugal

106.1

106.6

106.9

106.7

106.6

106.6

Romania

107.0

108.8

108.4

113.4

c

c

Slovenia

99.2

99.5

99.2

97.9

97.9

99.8

Slovakia

100.1

100.1

101.8

100.7

101.5

100.9

Finland

92.5

92.5

91.7

91.9

92.0

92.2

Sweden

94.2

93.1

92.6

92.8

95.4

93.7

Norway

92.5

92.9

92.0

91.9

92.1

92.4

Switzerland

97.9

98.4

98.2

99.0

99.1

98.7

c Confidential

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (6)

Volume of retail trade, calendar adjusted indices

(base year 2021)

Oct-23

Nov-23

Dec-23

Jan-24

Feb-24

Mar-24

Euro area

99.9

102.2

115.3

93.0

87.7

97.9

EU

100.4

102.8

115.4

92.6

87.9

99.1

Belgium

90.1

90.5

102.2

84.0

74.8

84.5

Bulgaria

110.5

113.7

118.5

98.5

96.5

104.3

Czechia

94.7

105.0

114.5

85.1

80.6

c

Denmark

92.0

101.2

109.0

85.4

82.0

93.0

Germany

98.3

102.9

107.0

88.1

85.0

97.6

Estonia

94.6

93.4

104.7

81.2

77.6

90.8

Ireland

95.4

115.9

137.8

94.3

95.1

92.8

Greece

98.1

98.3

111.0

85.5

88.8

c

Spain

103.8

106.1

121.9

104.1

92.0

101.1

France

101.3

103.0

122.8

97.6

90.7

101.1

Croatia

105.8

98.9

111.8

89.2

88.8

102.6

Italy

101.1

99.8

117.8

c

c

c

Cyprus

110.7

112.4

133.9

101.4

97.6

110.5

Latvia

101.8

99.4

115.1

91.2

87.9

101.1

Lithuania

100.7

99.0

112.2

90.0

87.3

100.5

Luxembourg

108.9

110.7

129.9

112.2

101.4

116.1

Hungary

99.6

102.1

116.9

85.6

85.2

98.4

Malta

114.4

120.7

126.4

101.8

99.7

107.5

Netherlands

100.3

104.8

110.7

95.9

89.3

101.0

Austria

97.0

96.2

108.0

86.8

85.6

96.7

Poland

110.7

108.2

122.3

96.9

95.7

118.5

Portugal

105.2

107.5

128.1

98.0

92.1

102.2

Romania

109.3

114.9

122.1

100.4

c

c

Slovenia

101.7

100.9

109.6

89.6

85.6

101.3

Slovakia

102.6

103.8

113.5

91.6

92.9

102.8

Finland

92.2

93.3

104.2

80.5

77.0

87.8

Sweden

94.5

97.7

103.0

81.6

80.7

91.9

Norway

90.8

101.1

108.0

82.7

77.7

88.1

Switzerland

97.9

105.7

117.8

92.8

88.1

99.7

c Confidential

Source dataset: sts_trtu_m

Volume of retail trade up by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU (7)

Notes for users

Revisions and timetable

Data of previous months have been revised compared to those issued in the News Release of 5 April 2024. The monthly percentage change for February 2024 has been revised from -0.5% to -0.3% in the euro area and from -0.4% to -0.1% in theEU. The annual percentage change has been revised from -0.7% to -0.5% in the euro area and from -0.2% to 0.0% in the EU.

Methods and definitions

The index of the volume of retail trade measures the evolution of the turnover in retail trade, adjusted for price changes (deflated), i.e. the evolution of the total amount of goods sold, based on data adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects.

Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data.

Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the euro area and the EU aggregates.

Starting with reference period January 2024, the base year of the data has been changed to 2021, since 2018 the base year had been 2015. More information on the reasons for and impact of the base year change can be found in the related Statistics Explained article.

Geographical information

The euro area (EA20) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

For more information

  • Database section on short-term business statistics

  • Statistics Explained article on the index of retail trade

  • The weights of the Member States in the EU and euro area aggregates
    (See file Base year 2021 weights - Euro indicators releases)

  • Euro indicators dashboard

  • Release calendar for Euro indicators

  • European Statistics Code of Practice

Get in touch

Media requests

Eurostat Media Support

Phone: (+352) 4301 33 408

E-mail: eurostat-mediasupport@ec.europa.eu

Further information on data

E-mail: ESTAT-STS-DATA@ec.europa.eu

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' + '' + '' + '' + seriesName + '' + '' + '' + value + '' + '

'; } /** Close the tooltip content container */ tooltipContent += '

'; /** Return the formatted tooltip content */ return tooltipContent; }}/* * This content is licensed according to the W3C Software License at * https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2015/copyright-software-and-document * * File: sortable-table.js * * Desc: Adds sorting to a HTML data table that implements ARIA Authoring Practices */'use strict';class SortableTable { constructor(tableNode) { this.tableNode = tableNode; this.columnHeaders = tableNode.querySelectorAll('thead th.sortable'); this.sortColumns = []; for (var i = 0; i < this.columnHeaders.length; i++) { var ch = this.columnHeaders[i]; var buttonNode = ch.querySelector('button'); if (buttonNode) { this.sortColumns.push(i); // buttonNode.setAttribute('data-column-index', i); // buttonNode.addEventListener('click', this.handleClick.bind(this)); ch.setAttribute('data-column-index', i); ch.addEventListener('click', this.handleClick.bind(this)); } } this.optionCheckbox = document.querySelector( 'input[type="checkbox"][value="show-unsorted-icon"]' ); if (this.optionCheckbox) { this.optionCheckbox.addEventListener( 'change', this.handleOptionChange.bind(this) ); if (this.optionCheckbox.checked) { this.tableNode.classList.add('show-unsorted-icon'); } } } setColumnHeaderSort(columnIndex) { if (typeof columnIndex === 'string') { columnIndex = parseInt(columnIndex); } for (var i = 0; i < this.columnHeaders.length; i++) { var ch = this.columnHeaders[i]; var buttonNode = ch.querySelector('button'); if (i === columnIndex) { var value = ch.getAttribute('aria-sort'); if (value === 'ascending') { ch.setAttribute('aria-sort', 'descending'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'descending', ch.classList.contains('num')); } else if (value === 'descending') { ch.removeAttribute('aria-sort'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'initial', true ); } else { ch.setAttribute('aria-sort', 'ascending'); this.sortColumn( columnIndex, 'ascending', ch.classList.contains('num') ); } } else { if (ch.hasAttribute('aria-sort') && buttonNode) { ch.removeAttribute('aria-sort'); } } } } sortColumn(columnIndex, sortValue, isNumber) { function compareValues(a, b) { if (a.value === b.value) return 0; if (sortValue === 'descending') { return isNumber ? b.value - a.value : (a.value > b.value ? -1 : 1); } else { return isNumber ? a.value - b.value : (a.value < b.value ? -1 : 1); } } if (typeof isNumber !== 'boolean') { isNumber = false; } var tbodyNode = this.tableNode.querySelector('tbody'); var rowNodes = []; var dataCells = []; var rowNode = tbodyNode.firstElementChild; var index = 0; while (rowNode) { rowNodes.push(rowNode); var rowCells = rowNode.querySelectorAll('th, td'); var dataCell = rowCells[columnIndex]; var data = {}; data.index = index; if (sortValue !== 'initial') { data.value = dataCell.textContent.toLowerCase().trim(); } else { data.value = rowNode.getAttribute('initial-position').toLowerCase().trim(); } if (isNumber) { data.value = parseFloat(data.value); } dataCells.push(data); rowNode = rowNode.nextElementSibling; index += 1; } dataCells.sort(compareValues); // remove rows while (tbodyNode.firstChild) { tbodyNode.removeChild(tbodyNode.lastChild); } // add sorted rows for (var i = 0; i < dataCells.length; i += 1) { let pos = [dataCells[i].index]; if (sortValue === "initial") { rowNodes[pos].classList.remove("sorted"); } else { rowNodes[pos].classList.add("sorted"); } tbodyNode.appendChild(rowNodes[pos]); } } /* EVENT HANDLERS */ handleClick(event) { var tgt = event.currentTarget; this.setColumnHeaderSort(tgt.getAttribute('data-column-index')); } handleOptionChange(event) { var tgt = event.currentTarget; if (tgt.checked) { this.tableNode.classList.add('show-unsorted-icon'); } else { this.tableNode.classList.remove('show-unsorted-icon'); } }}$(document).ready(function() { load(); });;}());

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