New decline for retail sales in Italy, which in 2013 recorded a decrease of 2,1% every year. This was noted by Istat, specifying that it is the largest drop since 1990, or since the beginning of comparable historical series. The decline in retail sales is a synthesis of the decline of 1,1% for food products and 2,7% for non-food products.
Looking at the month of December 2013 alone, retail sales suffered a drop of 2,6% on an annual basis, a synthesis of decreases of 2,3% for sales of food products and 2,7% for those of non food.
Also in December, the seasonally adjusted index of retail sales decreased by 0,3% compared to the previous month. On average for the October-December quarter, the index recorded a decrease of 0,4% compared to the previous three months.
