The total sales of the trade had a fall, in real terms, of 0.1%, affecting all the interior of Uruguay.
The National Chamber of Commerce and Services (CNCS) released this Monday the data from its quarterly survey, corresponding to the second quarter of the yearwhich show a drop in total trade sales of 0.1% compared to the same quarter last year, in real terms.
There were opposite variations between Montevideo and the rest of the territory. In the country’s capital, trade and service sales rose an average of 1.3%, while in the rest of the territory they fell 4.9%. It was especially strong drop in coastal saleswith a decrease of 6% year-on-year, which reflects that the negative incidence of the exchange difference with Argentina. But there were also declines in sales on the East Coast (-5.4%) and in the Northeast (-4.4%).
The CNCS survey also shows important differences in sales according to company size. There was a 7.6% drop in sales of small companies, while sales of large companies rose 2.3%.
Regarding online commerce, the survey makes a Detailed analysis of the significance of this channel, pointing out that -in those companies that have online sales- it represented 22% of the total sales. Weighted by the number of employed people, online sales grew 2.3% compared to the same period last year, which configures a deceleration in a channel that until now was more dynamic.
Headings
According to the survey of the Camera only 30% of the items surveyed showed increases in their sales. Particularly noteworthy is the increase in sales of retail stores outfit with an interannual rise of 3%, a figure similar to that registered in the sports houses which had an increase of 2.8%. Sales in the automobile and spare parts category remained practically the same as in the previous year. On the contrary, sales in pharmacy and premises of personal care they had a fall of 5.6% year-on-year; in the construction, barracks and paint shops category, the drop was almost 8%.
in the houses of home appliances real year-over-year sales fell 7%. This does not necessarily imply a drop in the number of units sold, but behind the figure is the drop in the dollar, of almost 5% nominal in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. The vast majority of household appliances is traded in dollars and -since inflation in the same interval was 7%- the dollar had a real fall of more than 10%, which could be the main explanation for the drop in sales.
A very relevant channel in trade sales are the supermarkets, which had an increase of 2.9% year-on-year, marking the fourth consecutive increase. The increase comes despite the fact that many supermarkets have sales of household appliances, which led the average down; this factor was offset upwards by the increase in food Sales, especially baked goods and drinks.
Source: Ambito
