Spain recorded the biggest increase in retail trade volumes in the European Union in November 2023, registering a 6.8% increase on a year-on-year basis, new data from Eurostat has found.
Also reporting a strong year-on-year increase in volumes were Croatia (+6.4%), Denmark (+6.3%), Malta (+5.3%) and Cyprus (+4.8%).
In terms of the countries that saw the biggest year-on-year decline in retail volumes, Slovenia (-11.1%), Estonia (-8.8%) and Hungary (-5.4%) all reported a marked decline compared to November 2022.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsEuro area #RetailTrade down by 0.3% in November 2023 over October, -1.1% compared with November 2022 https://t.co/y8gaURl5tT pic.twitter.com/DnAVauEvk5
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) January 8, 2024
Retail trade volume declines
Overall, the volume of retail trade decreased by 1.1% in the euro area in November 2023, and by 1.0% in the European Union, compared to the same month the previous year.
Within the euro area specifically, the volume of retail trade decreased by 4.5% for automotive fuels, by 0.7% for food, drinks and tobacco and by 0.2% for non-food products, while across the EU, retail trade volume decreased by 5.0% for automotive fuels, by 0.5% for food, drinks and tobacco and by 0.2% for non-food products.
Month-on-month comparison
If looking at the data on the month-on-month basis (i.e. compared to October 2023), the volume of retail trade was down by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU.
The highest month-on-month increases were seen in Portugal (+3.1%), Croatia (+3.0%), Slovenia (+3.0%), Malta (+1.7%) and Romania (+1.7%). The biggest month-on-month decreases, meanwhile, were in Germany (-2.5%), Luxembourg (-1.4%) and Austria (-0.7%).
Top 10 EU Countries by Increase in Retail Trade Volume (Nov 2023)
| Country | Percentage Increase |
|---|---|
| Spain | 6.8 |
| Croatia | 6.4 |
| Denmark | 6.3 |
| Malta | 5.3 |
| Cyprus | 4.8 |
| Romania | 3.8 |
| Bulgaria | 3.2 |
| Portugal | 2.3 |
| Lithuania | 0.1 |
| Poland | -0.8 |
