Food products, home appliances, furniture, and several other categories pushed the retail sector in Brazil during July. In comparison with the previous month (June), the increase registered was 1%, but in relation to 2018 July, the performance was higher – 4,3%. This is the fourth consecutive best result of the sector since November of last year. Information is from IBGE, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. 

Surpassing market expectations, retail sales are gathering pace. The indicator accumulated in the last 12 months, has gone from 1.2% until June to 1.6% until July. And as for the comparison year-on-year, the 1% increase represents the best result since 2013, when the progress was of 2.7%.

Six of the eight categories researched showed an increase in July, in comparison with the same month of 2018. Highlights came from personal and home care items (8.1%); health and beauty products (8.5%); furniture and home appliances (7.4%); and textiles, apparel, and footwear (6.6%). 

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An increasing number of the employed population and more credit concession for families were some of the major responsible factors that boosted the sales of the sector. “Even if the growth is in informal jobs, people started working. That has an impact on supermarket sales, which is a basic activity,” explained Isabella Nunes, head of the research at IBGE. 

As for credit access, reduced interest rates have pushed sales in categories like furniture and home appliances. “These are sales that are part of the family budget for some months. The concession of credit rose for physical persons, thus there was a stimulus for the sales of durable goods,” said the expert.