Swiss retail trade turnover rises steeply in March

According to the report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 21.5% in nominal terms in March 2021 compared with the previous year. This sharp increase is mainly due to the low value for March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic first began to filter through. Seasonally adjusted, nominal turnover rose by 21.9% compared with the previous month.

Real turnover adjusted for sales days and holidays rose in the retail sector by 22.6% in March 2021 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 22.1%.

Adjusted for sales days and holidays, the retail sector excluding service stations showed a 22.3% increase in nominal turnover in March 2021 compared with March 2020 (in real terms +23.5%). Service stations recorded a nominal turnover increase of 10.9% (real +2.0%).

Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco registered an increase in nominal turnover of 7.0% (in real terms +8.5%), whereas the non-food sector registered a nominal plus of 39.9% (in real terms +41.1%). All sectors recorded strong increases.

Excluding service stations, the retail sector showed a seasonally adjusted increase in nominal turnover of 23.3% compared with the previous month (in real terms +23.6%).