Retail trade no progress since 2011, while growing slightly on a monthly basis. In February, the crude index of retail sales calculated by Istat marked an increase in the 0,1% compared to the same month last year, while the increase on a quarterly basis was 0,6%.
Average of quarter December 2011 – February 2012, the index is decreased by 0,2% compared to the previous three months. Compared to January 2012 sales of both food (+0,7%) and non-food (+0,6%) products increased.
Every year food sales are increased of the 2,3%those of non-food products decreased by 1%. Sales by distribution form showed an increase compared to the month of February 2011 (+ 1,9%) for large-scale distribution and a decrease (-1,3%) for businesses operating on small surfaces.
In the former two months of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, raw index decreased by 0,6%. Sales of food products increased 1,2% and those of non-food products one 1,4% decrease.
