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Retail trade turnover in December 2020 Swiss retail trade turnover rose in December by 3.5% - total figure for 2020 remained stable despite pandemic

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Swiss retail trade turnover fell by 0.4% in February 2024

01.02.2021 - Retail trade turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays showed nominal growth of 3.5% in December 2020 compared with the same month of the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover grew by 2.2% compared with the previous month. Despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the whole of 2020, provisional results show nominal growth of 0.1%. This positive growth consists of contrasting developments in the sectors with some strong turnover losses and gains. These are provisional findings from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 4.7% in December 2020 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered an increase of 2.6%.

Retail sector excluding service stations

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 5.1% increase in nominal turnover in December 2020 compared with December 2019 (in real terms +6.2%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered an increase in nominal turnover of 13.0% (in real terms +13.3%), whereas the non-food sector registered a nominal negative of 1.3% (in real terms +0.1%).
Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted increase in nominal turnover of 2.1% compared with the previous month (in real terms +2.7%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered a plus of 3.9% (in real terms +4.5%). The non-food sector showed a minus of 0.1% (in real terms +0.1%).

2020 as a whole Pandemic had varied impact on economic sectors

For 2020 as a whole, Swiss retail trade registered a provisional increase in nominal turnover of 0.1% (+0.8% in real terms) compared with the previous year. The measures taken to curb the Covid-19 pandemic had varying effects on the different economic sectors. While retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco recorded an increase in nominal turnover of 8.5% (in real terms +8.2%) the non-food sector registered a nominal minus of 4.7% (in real terms –3.5%). The sectors “service stations” (–16.1%; in real terms –6.0%), “other goods (clothing, chemists, watches and jewellery)” (–12.5%; in real terms –11.8%) and “cultural and recreation goods in specialised stores” (–7.1%; in real terms –8.0%) were most affected by the crisis. In contrast, the sectors “market stalls, retail sale via mail order houses or via internet” (+14.1%; +14.9 in real terms), “information and communication equipment” (+13.8%; in real terms +22.3%) and “other household equipment, textiles, DIY and furniture” (+2.2%; in real terms +2.8%) showed positive turnover figures.

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