Retail sales up year-on-year in November
According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Swiss retailers sold more in November compared to the previous year; however, sales declined compared to the previous month, October. Rising COVID-19 case numbers and stricter pandemic control measures, particularly in French-speaking Switzerland, are likely to have had a negative impact.
Retail sales in Switzerland rose by 1.0 percent year-on-year in November, adjusted for calendar effects, the FSO wrote on Thursday. In contrast, sales fell by 2.4 percent (seasonally adjusted) compared to the previous month of October, according to FSO data. In October, retailers had achieved significantly higher sales both compared to the previous year and to the previous month.
The recovery in the retail sector was thus dampened in November. This is probably also due to the tightening of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. In western Switzerland in particular, store closures were ordered in the fall to reduce the number of infections, for example in the canton of Geneva.
Mixed start to Christmas business
The start of the Christmas shopping season at the end of November, with the discount battles on "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday", apparently provided little support. Non-food sales fell by a nominal 1.7 percent compared with the previous year and by as much as 3.2 percent compared with October.
There were major differences between the various non-food categories. Sales in internet retailing, for example, increased by 15 percent compared with the previous year, while sales of information and communication technology equipment soared by 36 percent.
Sales of the household appliances, textiles, DIY and home furnishings category also developed well (+5.3%). By contrast, sales of publishing products, sports equipment and toys in over-the-counter retail slumped by just under 9 percent and those with "other goods" by 10 percent.
Growing food sales
Food was a mainstay of the retail trade in the Corona year - also in November. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco products were up 8.3 percent on the previous year. Closed restaurants and concerns about Corona infections may have prompted many people to cook more of their food on their own stoves.
In view of the strong growth in food, Credit Suisse economists expect retail sales to increase by 5.2 percent in 2020, as they outlined in a study published on Wednesday. The FSO presents the annual statistics on retail trade on February 1.
For 2021, however, the CS economists expect retail sales to decline by 1.7 percent. Rising unemployment figures, stagnating wages, and a likely continued decline in migration are likely to put pressure on retailers' revenues. And if normality returns to Corona, more Swiss people are likely to travel to neighboring countries to make purchases. (SDA)
