| Consensus | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month over Month | 0.2% | 1.2% | -0.5% | -0.3% |
| Year over Year | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
Highlights
September retail sales rose a surprisingly strong 1.2 percent on the month in value, indicative of rising consumer appetite. Volumes were also up 1.2 percent, with food increasing 1.5 percent and non-food 1.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, nominal sales rose 0.7 percent and volumes 0.3 percent, partly due to gains in food (0.6 percent). Non-food volumes also increased 0.9 percent, partly due to a significant increase in sales of household appliances, radios and televisions. This offset the decrease in sales of stationary, books, newspapers and magazines seen in September.
Compared to September last year, the value of retail sales for large-scale distribution is growing. Sales outside of physical stores fell 1.6 percent, while e-commerce posted a 2.1 percent uptick. This emphasises a growing predilection for online purchasing and suggests that, despite the importance of traditional retail channels, digital platforms are becoming more critical to the development of the retail industry.
Today's update lifts the RPI to minus 21 and the RPI-P to minus 30, but leaves recent overall economic activity lagging behind market estimates.
On a yearly basis, nominal sales rose 0.7 percent and volumes 0.3 percent, partly due to gains in food (0.6 percent). Non-food volumes also increased 0.9 percent, partly due to a significant increase in sales of household appliances, radios and televisions. This offset the decrease in sales of stationary, books, newspapers and magazines seen in September.
Compared to September last year, the value of retail sales for large-scale distribution is growing. Sales outside of physical stores fell 1.6 percent, while e-commerce posted a 2.1 percent uptick. This emphasises a growing predilection for online purchasing and suggests that, despite the importance of traditional retail channels, digital platforms are becoming more critical to the development of the retail industry.
Today's update lifts the RPI to minus 21 and the RPI-P to minus 30, but leaves recent overall economic activity lagging behind market estimates.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Nominal sales are seen rising 0.2 percent on the month, reversing less than half of August's 0.5 percent decline.
Definition
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The headline data are expressed in nominal terms but volume statistics are also available. Autos are excluded. Only a very limited breakdown of subsector performance is available in the first report but much greater detail is provided in the following month's release. The Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy.
Description
With consumer spending a large part of the economy, market players continually monitor spending patterns. Retail sales are a measure of consumer well-being. The pattern in consumer spending is often the foremost influence on stock and bond markets. For stocks, strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth.
