Eurozone Retail Sales Stronger Than expected in August

Data on Monday showed that Eurozone retail sales were much stronger than expected in August thanks to a massive increase in online purchases and growth in clothing sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but July sales were revised down.

Retail sales in 19 Eurozone countries jumped 4.4% month-on-month in August, registering a 3.7% annual increase, exceeding analysts’ expectations for a 2.4% and 2.2% monthly increase year-on-year.

However, July’s data was revised down to a monthly drop of 1.8% and 0.1% year on year, compared with 1.3% and 0.4%, respectively, in the previous reading.

The jump in August sales was due to a 12.4-month and 23.8-year increase in mail and online orders. This comes in contrast to a sharp decline on a monthly basis in July, and nearly double the annual increase recorded in it.