Retail sales increase in October thanks to inflation
Published: Thursday, Nov 30th 2023, 10:10
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Swiss retailers achieved higher sales in October than a year ago, mainly thanks to inflation. There was strong growth in fuel sales.
According to provisional results published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Thursday, retail sales grew by 1.1% in nominal terms in October 2023 compared to the same month in the previous year. The trend is adjusted for sales and public holiday effects.
The fact that products are becoming more expensive has been clearly felt by consumers in the retail trade. After all, retail sales fell by 0.1% in real terms, taking inflation into account.
High fuel sales
Excluding the sales trend at petrol stations, sales rose by 1.5% in nominal terms (+0.2% in real terms). According to the BSF, the retail trade in food, beverages and tobacco recorded a nominal increase of 1.9% (-1.0% in real terms), while the non-food sector registered a nominal increase of 1.2% (+0.9% in real terms).
Retailers recorded strong growth of 12% in nominal terms in sales of publishing products, sports equipment and toys as well as information and communication technology equipment (+7.1% in nominal terms). However, sales of clothing and shoes were down (-2.9% in nominal terms).
There was a noticeable movement in fuel sales: Adjusted, these increased by 5.1% in nominal terms and 7.4% in real terms in the month under review. On an unadjusted basis, the increases were as high as 7.9% and 10% respectively.
Growth compared to previous month
Compared to the previous month of September, retail sales in Switzerland rose by 0.3% in nominal and seasonally adjusted terms, according to the FSO. In real terms, this resulted in an increase of 0.3% compared to the previous month. And excluding petrol stations, the retail trade recorded a nominal, seasonally adjusted increase in turnover of 0.4% compared to September (+0.4% in real terms).
In a month-on-month comparison, sales in the food, beverages and tobacco retail sector fell by 0.6% (-0.2% in real terms). The non-food sector recorded a nominal increase of 1.0% (-0.1% in real terms).
The Federal Statistical Office's retail sales statistics are based on a random sample of around 3,000 companies. It is a monthly survey, with small businesses being asked about their monthly turnover figures on a quarterly basis.
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