Taking a year-to-year perspective, there was a calendar-adjusted decrease in retail sales of 2.1 per cent in the euro area and 2 per cent in the EU when set against the numbers from August 2022.

The euro area reported a decrease of 0.9 per cent in the retail trade volume for non-food products. Meanwhile, the EU's trade volume for these products saw a slighter drop of 0.6 per cent.

Some member states experienced more pronounced shifts than others. Portugal, for instance, recorded the most substantial monthly decrease in its retail trade volume, falling by 3 per cent. France and Belgium also felt the pinch with reductions of 2.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. In contrast, Luxembourg led the charge in monthly increases with a rise of 1.9 per cent, followed closely by Poland at 1.7 per cent and Denmark at 1.6 per cent.

In a yearly comparison for August 2023 against August 2022, the retail trade volume for non-food products in the euro area and the EU saw minimal reductions of 0.2 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Among the member states, Slovenia registered a dramatic annual decrease of 21.5 per cent in retail trade volume. Belgium and Estonia also posted notable declines at 8.5 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively. On the other side of the spectrum, Luxembourg reported an 8.7 per cent rise in annual retail trade, with Spain and Cyprus trailing behind with increases of 8.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)