Retail sales in the eurozone fell sharply again in April due to the outbreak of the new corona virus and restrictive measures to curb the disease. This was reported by the European statistics agency Eurostat.
According to Eurostat, retail sales in the nineteen euro countries fell by an average of 11.7 percent compared to March. There were sharp declines in fuel sales, for example because the car was driven much less. Sales of non-food products also fell sharply. However, annual sales of food, drink and tobacco increased as people continued to hoard groceries in April due to the crisis.
For the entire European Union, Eurostat recorded a 11.1 percent drop in retail sales. Within the EU, the largest monthly decreases were measured in Malta, Romania and Ireland. Only a slight plus could be seen in Finland. In the Netherlands, retail sales fell by 5.7 percent on a monthly basis.
Sales also came under pressure as shops and shopping centers were closed in many countries. Within the product categories, the strongest sales declines were recorded in textiles, clothing, footwear, electronics and furniture. Online sales increased sharply as people started shopping more via the internet.