Spain: Retail sales drop at softest pace in 10 months in December 2020
Retail sales slipped 0.6% compared to the same month of 2019 in December 2020, after falling 5.9% in November and marking the softest contraction since the onset of the pandemic in March.
Looking at the details of the release, December’s result reflected a broad-based improvement across all types of stores. Sales at single retail, small chain and department stores all declined at a softer pace compared to November. Purchases at large chain stores, meanwhile, picked up strongly.
On a seasonally- and calendar-adjusted monthly basis, retail sales jumped 1.0% in December, rebounding from the 0.5% drop logged in November. Lastly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of retail sales coming in at minus 6.8% in December, down from November’s minus 6.5% reading.