translated from Spanish: Face-to-face retail sales in the RM increased 51.7% in August

Face-to-face retail sales in the Metropolitan Region increased in August by 51.7% real annually, according to figures from the National Chamber of Commerce (CNC).
The figure, however, shows a slowdown compared to July, when growth was 125.1%, and continuing the influence of a low comparison base having registered a decrease of 20.8% in the same month of 2020.
In this regard, the manager of Studies of the CNC, Bernardita Silva explained that “in terms of consumption, it is expected that demand will continue to remain high in the remainder of the year, imports have increased significantly in response to this and anticipating future purchases, including Christmas, where the different actors seek to secure their stocks in the face of a complicated global logistics scenario and greater inflationary pressure. ”
Likewise, face-to-face sales between January and August accumulate a real growth of 36%.
In addition, it is expected that consumption will remain at high levels in the remainder of the year, considering that imports have increased considerably and anticipating future purchases, such as those of the Christmas season.
Despite this, Silva warned that growth should begin to be more attenuated considering the high bases of comparison, especially in the last quarter, in addition to a normalization in consumer behavior.

Original source in Spanish