Commercial sales grew 0.2% from July to August, interrupting four consecutive months of decline. Compared to the same period last year, there was an increase of 0.4%.
You data is part of the Monthly Commerce Surveyreleased this Wednesday (15) by Brazilian Institute of Geography (IBGE).
Although the sector’s performance remained in positive territory, the IBGE considers the movement as stability, as it is less than 0.5%. According to the research manager, Cristiano Santos, “the news is that it has stopped falling” and does not represent a “key turn” in relation to the previous four months.
With the result, the sector is 0.7% below the highest point ever recorded (March 2025) and 9.4% above the pre-covid-19 pandemic level (February 2020).
In 12 months, retail trade grew by 2.2%. Despite being positive, the accumulated data shows a deceleration trend since December 2024, when it reached 4.1%.
Sectors
The IBGE shows that five of the eight segments surveyed showed an increase from July to August:
– Office, IT and communication equipment and supplies: 4.9%
– Fabrics, clothing and footwear: 1%
– Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles: 0.7%
– Furniture and household appliances: 0.4%
– Hyper, supermarkets, food products, drinks and tobacco: 0.4%
– Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery: -2.1%
– Fuels and lubricants: -0.6%
– Other articles for personal and domestic use: -0.5%
Cristiano Santos explains that the performance of the office, IT and communication equipment and supplies sector was positively influenced by the devaluation of the dollar against the real, which makes products with imported components cheaper in Brazil.
In the footwear segment, sales received positive effects from Father’s Day.
One of the factors that helped performance from July to August was inflationaccording to Santos, which was negative in August (-0.11%).
Santos also highlights that, despite high interest rates, which make credit more expensive, there was an increase in the volume of loans to individuals (+1.5% compared to July), which favors consumption.
Wholesale
In expanded retail trade, which includes wholesale activities ─ vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces; building material; and food products, beverages and tobacco ─ sales grew 0.9% from July to August and rose 0.7% in the last 12 months.
The IBGE survey represents a set of 6,770 companies across the country. According to Cristiano Santos, the survey does not identify apparent effects of American tariffswhich makes some Brazilian products exported to the United States more expensive.
Economy as a whole
The Monthly Trade Survey is the third publication of three short-term surveys released monthly by IBGE. In recent days, the institute revealed that the country showed a 0.1% increase in services, expanding the sector’s recordand the industry grew 0.8% in August, interrupting four consecutive months without growth.
