Brazil: São Paulo’s retail sales dropped 8% in the first half of July

The movement in São Paulo’s retail market in the first half of July increased 67.5% compared to the same period in 2021.

The data is from the preview of the Balanço de Vendas (“Sales Balance”), an indicator prepared by the Institute of Economy Gastão Vidigal (IEGV) from the Commercial Association of São Paulo (ACSP).

However, according to IEGV, the result does not encourage nor reflect reality because the comparison basis is weak. In comparison with the corresponding time frame in 2019, for example, there is a drop of 8.3%.

In the first half of July last year, commerce operated with 80% reduced capacity and hours due to the covid-19 pandemic, ACSP explains. In comparison with the same range of days in the previous month, there was a 3.5% drop.

For Marcel Solimeo, an economist at ACSP, the data is justified by factors such as inflation and loss of income.

“There is a combination of interest rates and high inflation, which makes products more expensive on the shelves and, consequently, leads to a loss of consumer purchasing power,” he analyzes.

The economist also points out that there are expectations of improvement in the scenario for the coming months. Part of this is due to the higher amount granted to beneficiaries of the Brazil Allowance.

Still, in his evaluation, the injection of another extra resource, such as the 13th salary paid to workers, should contribute to the sector to reach the level before the pandemic.

With information from Estadão