Retail: Retail sales continue to decline
Sales in the Swiss retail sector fell by 4.6 percent year-on-year in nominal terms in June 2016. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), this is the sharpest decline since January 2003, with the downward trend continuing unabated since January 2015.
Adjusted for sales and holiday effects, the retail trade excluding service stations recorded a 4.2 percent decline in nominal sales in June 2016 compared with June 2015 (-3.7% in real terms), according to the FSO. The retail trade with food, beverages and tobacco recorded a decrease in nominal sales of 1.5 percent (-1.7% in real terms), while the non-food sector registered a nominal minus of 6.8 percent (-5.1% in real terms).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail trade excluding fuel recorded a nominal month-on-month decline in sales of 0.6 percent in June (-0.5% in real terms). Retail trade in food, beverages and tobacco recorded a nominal decline in sales of 0.6 percent (-0.7% in real terms). The non-food sector registered a nominal decline of 0.6 percent (-0.6% in real terms). (ah)
