Brazilian retail sales fell 0.4% from October to November. The result was negatively impacted by the furniture and household appliances sector, but is considered within the stability level. This trade performance makes the sector leave the highest point in the historical series, reached in October 2024, when it had grown 0.4% compared to September.
The data is part of the Monthly Trade Survey, released this Thursday (9) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
In the 11 months of 2024, retail trade totals an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2023. In 12 months, the positive accumulation is 4.6% – the 26th consecutive month of increase in this type of accumulated comparison. Compared to November 2023, the sector grew 4.7%.
Research manager Cristiano Santos explains that the 0.4% variation is considered stable and does not break the behavior of the year of high sales (+0.4%), being “quite significant when compared to previous years”. He recalls that from January to May 2024, trade had five consecutive months of increase.
Segments
From October to November, IBGE found a decline in sales in five of the eight activities surveyed. The biggest downward influence came from furniture and household appliances, which fell 2.8%.
Cristino points out that the result for furniture and household appliances in November does not suppress the advance of October, when it expanded 7.8%, reflecting an “anticipation of promotions related to Black Friday”.
Other segments with a drop in sales were pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (-2.2%), books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (-1.5%), other articles for personal and domestic use (-1. 0%) and hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, drinks and tobacco (-0.1%).
According to Santos, the behavior of supermarkets, which represent 53.2% of national retail, represents an accommodation after recent growth. “It’s the sector that comes closest to its maximum value,” he says. Food inflation also explains this 0.1% drop compared to the highest point, in October 2024.
On the sales growth side, there are office, computer and communication equipment and supplies (3.5%), fuels and lubricants (1.5%) and fabrics, clothing and footwear (1.4%).
The so-called expanded retail, a version of the survey that includes, in addition to retail, the activities of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, construction material and specialized wholesale of food products, beverages and tobacco, sales fell 1.8% in the period from October to November. In the year, the accumulation is positive 4.4% and, in 12 months, 4%.
