The volume of retail sales in the European Union and the euro area is slowly losing its breath. Year-on-year, it rose by more than three percent in July, but decreased by about two percent compared to June.
The month-on-month decline in retail sales in the European Union and the euro area occurred for the second time in July this year. The first was in April, when the people of the EU-27 spent less than in March. Now the decline is about 1.5 percentage points lower.
In a year-on-year comparison, however, traders’ sales grew. This is 3.8 percent within the EU and 3.1 percent in countries paying in euros. This is also a slightly lower growth rate than in June, May or April. Probably the main reason is the fact that European households have practically returned to the growth trajectory that was established before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis. Thus, it is necessary to calculate that retail sales will now grow at a kind of “normal” pace.
Households had the greatest shopping appetite in Croatia, Luxembourg and Malta, where sales also grew month-on-month. In a year-on-year comparison, traders were the most successful in Bulgaria, where households spent a fifth more than last year.
