| Consensus | Actual | Previous | Revised | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month over Month | 0.9% | -0.5% | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Year over Year | 2.6% | 0.7% |
Highlights
October retail sales surprisingly fell 0.5 percent on the month in value, indicative of declining consumer appetite. Volumes were down 0.8 percent, with food decreasing 1.4 percent and non-food decreasing 0.5 percent.
On a yearly basis, nominal sales rose 2.6 percent and volumes 1.5 percent, in large part due to gains in non-food (up 2.2 percent). Within the non-food category the largest growth was in cosmetic and toilet articles (up 6.4 percent), electric household appliances and audio-video equipment (up 6.1 percent). This offset the decline in shoes, leather goods and travel items which experienced the largest fall (down 1.9 percent). Food also saw gains in October, up 0.4 percent.
Compared to October last year, the value of retail sales for large-scale distribution grew 3.2 percent while small-scale distribution increased by 1.9 percent/. Non-store retail sales declined by 0.4 percent but E-commerce posted a 4.7 percent advance.
Today's update puts the Italian RPI at minus 4 and the RPI-P at minus 25, showing recent overall economic activity slightly lagging market estimates.
On a yearly basis, nominal sales rose 2.6 percent and volumes 1.5 percent, in large part due to gains in non-food (up 2.2 percent). Within the non-food category the largest growth was in cosmetic and toilet articles (up 6.4 percent), electric household appliances and audio-video equipment (up 6.1 percent). This offset the decline in shoes, leather goods and travel items which experienced the largest fall (down 1.9 percent). Food also saw gains in October, up 0.4 percent.
Compared to October last year, the value of retail sales for large-scale distribution grew 3.2 percent while small-scale distribution increased by 1.9 percent/. Non-store retail sales declined by 0.4 percent but E-commerce posted a 4.7 percent advance.
Today's update puts the Italian RPI at minus 4 and the RPI-P at minus 25, showing recent overall economic activity slightly lagging market estimates.
Market Consensus Before Announcement
Sales are expected to climb a monthly 0.9 percent after a 1.2 percent advance in September.
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.
