Swiss retail sales rose sharply in October

According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 2.6% in nominal terms in October 2020 compared with the previous year. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 3.3% compared with the previous month.

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 3.1% in October 2020 compared with the previous year. Real growth takes inflation into consideration. Compared with the previous month, real, seasonally adjusted retail trade turnover registered an increase of 3.2%.

Retail sector excluding service stations

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 4.5% increase in nominal turnover in October 2020 compared with October 2019 (in real terms +4.7%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered an increase in nominal turnover of 10.7% (in real terms +9.7%), whereas the non-food sector registered a nominal negative of 1.1% (in real terms –0.1%).

Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted increase in nominal turnover of 3.8% compared with the previous month (in real terms +3.7%). Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered a plus of 5.6% (in real terms +5.4%). The non-food sector showed a plus of 1.8% (in real terms +1.6%).