Press release

Retail trade turnover in February 2021 Considerable decrease in Swiss retail trade turnover in February

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Swiss retail trade turnover rose in January 2024 by 0.6%

01.04.2021 - Turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 6.9% in nominal terms in February 2021 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover fell by 5.5% compared with the previous month. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays fell in the retail sector by 6.3% in February 2021 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered a decline of 5.2%.

Retail sector excluding service stations

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 6.8% decrease in nominal turnover in February 2021 compared with February 2020 (in real terms –6.2%). The result for service stations was a loss of turnover of 8.2% (in real terms –6.9%).

While retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco recorded an increase in nominal turnover of 6.8% (in real terms +7.2%) the non-food sector registered a nominal minus of 20.5% (in real terms –19.9%). The sectors “other goods (clothing, chemists, watches and jewellery)” (–33.6%; real –33.2%) and “other household equipment, textiles, DIY and furniture” (–24.0%; real –23.7%) were most affected by the crisis. In contrast, the sectors “information and communication equipment” (+28.9%; +40.2% in real terms) and “market stalls, retail sale via mail order houses or via internet” (+21.8%; +22.9% in real terms) were able to report positive turnover figures.

Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted decline in nominal turnover of 6.6% compared with the previous month (in real terms –6.3%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered a nominal minus of 0.7% (in real terms –0.3%). The non-food sector showed a minus of 12.3% (in real terms –11.8%).

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Considerable decrease in Swiss retail trade turnover in February
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