The EU and the Eurozone reported a slump in retail trade in the end of 2019. The seasonally adjusted data for December 2019, compared to November 2019, shows a decline of 1.6% in the Eurozone and 1.3% in the European Union, according to data from the Eurostat Eurostat. In November 2019, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.8% for the Eurozone and by 0.9% for the EU.

Retail sales increased by 1.3% for the Eurozone and by 1.9% for the EU on a year-on-year basis in December 2019.

Month-on-month by sector and country

In the euro area, the volume of retail trade decreased by 1.6% for non-food products and by 1.4% for food, beverages, and tobacco and motor fuels on a monthly basis. In the EU as a whole, the volume of retail trade decreased by 1.6% for non-food products, by 1.3% for food, beverages, and tobacco and by 0.9% for motor fuels.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the largest decrease was recorded in the total retail trade volume in Germany (-3.3%), Slovenia (-2.8%) and Finland (-2.3%). The highest increases were recorded in Ireland (+2.7%), Malta (+1.3%) and Romania (+0.8%).

Year-on-year by sector and country

In the euro area on an annual basis in December 2019, retail trade volume increased by 3.6% for non-food products, while food, beverage, and tobacco sales decreased by 0.7% and consumption of motor fuels decreased by 3.7%. In the EU, retail trade volume increased by 4.0% for non-food products. In the meantime, the consumption of food, beverages, and tobacco decreased by 0.3%, while car fuel sales fell by 2.6%.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the largest annual increase in total retail trade was recorded in Romania (+8.5%), Hungary (+6.1%) and Malta (+5.6%). The largest decreases were observed in Slovenia (-6.6%), Slovakia (-2.5%) and Finland (-1.6%).