In December 2020, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 2.0% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the EU, compared to November 2020, according to estimates by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
In November 2020, the volume of retail trade decreased by 5.7% in the euro area and by 4.9% in the EU.
In December 2020 compared to December 2019, the adjusted calendar volume of retail trade increased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU.
The average annual retail trade for the year 2020, compared to 2019, decreased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU.
In the euro area in December 2020, compared to November 2020, the volume of retail trade increased by 5.1% for car fuel, by 1.9% for food, beverages and tobacco and by 1.5% for non-food products (within this category, textiles, clothing and footwear increased by 12.4%).
In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased by 4.0% for car fuels, by 1.7% for food, beverages and tobacco and by 0.7% for non-food products (textiles, clothing and footwear + 10, 0%).
Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest increases in total retail volume were observed in France (+ 22.3%), Belgium (+ 15.9%) and Ireland (+ 11.4%).
The largest decreases were recorded in the Netherlands (-10.9%), Germany (-9.6%) and Denmark (-8.0%).
The last recorded price for Cyprus is for November 2020 with + 1.1% compared to October 2020 and -1.9% compared to November 2019.
The last recorded price for Greece is also for November 2020 with -6.2% compared to October 2020 and -6.9% compared to November 2019.
In the euro area in December 2020, compared to December 2019, the volume of retail trade increased by 5.6% for food, beverages and tobacco, while it decreased by 0.8% for non-food products (in this category textiles, clothing and footwear decreased by 29.0%) and by 14.1% for car fuel.
In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased by 5.0% for food, beverages and tobacco, while it decreased by 0.6% for non-food products (textiles, clothing and footwear -28.4%) and by 12.9 % for car fuel.
Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in total retail volume were recorded in Ireland (+ 11.1%), France (+ 9.1%) and Estonia (+ 5.9%) .
The largest decreases were observed in Slovenia (-13.3%), Bulgaria (-12.0%) and the Netherlands (-5.7%).
