Retail sales approach pre-pandemic consumption levels

Retail establishments belonging to the Comertia group closed November this year with sales growth in all activity segments, except for restaurant businesses, which are bringing the business closer to pre-pandemic consumption levels.

Data from the Comertia indicator show that sales increased by 7.2% in November compared to the same month in 2019. According to the group, there is little way to go to recover pre-pandemic consumption normality. It should be noted that November is the period that includes Black Friday promotional campaigns which, this year, have seen a 16.5% increase in demand compared to 2019.

To return to the business levels of two years ago, only restaurants are lagging, still registering sales 3.8% below the same month in 2019, a figure that may be due to the lack of tourism and commercial closures that have occurred over the past year. The rest of the categories have seen higher demand, with sales increases of 15.9% in leisure-culture; basic food, 13.9%; personal accessories, 7.9%; non-basic food, 6.4%; fashion, 5.9%, and home equipment, 5.9%. The entity's retail indicator specifies that 61% of companies have registered increases in turnover, 5% have maintained them, and 34% have decreased them in November.

Looking ahead to the public holiday and commercial opening of La Purísima, 51% of entrepreneurs expect to maintain 2019 turnover. 10% predict "very good sales"; 23% believe they will be good but will notice the decline in tourism, and 13% think they will be weaker due to the amount of purchases made during Black Friday.

Regarding sales forecasts for the Christmas Campaign, 30% of entrepreneurs are less optimistic due to the arrival of the new coronavirus variant and supply problems. In this regard, the majority of entrepreneurs (78%) agree with the mandatory presentation of the covid certificate in leisure and restaurant establishments, and 60% believe that this system will reduce the risk of contagion.

On the other hand, online sales have increased by an average of 149% in November compared to the same month in 2019 and double the sales of the previous month. The weight of online sales for Comertia brands represents an average of 6.8% of total turnover. Fashion continues to lead online sales (9.8%), followed by restaurants (5.7%) and personal accessories (5.4%).

The Comertia association brings together 4,000 establishments from 61 retail chains, with more than a hundred brands created by family businesses. Its establishments, distributed throughout Catalonia and Spain, but also with an international presence, employ 35,000 people and jointly generate a turnover of around 4,000 million euros annually.