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Figures similar to those seen after the social outbreak. According to the Index prepared monthly by the Studies Department of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism of Chile (CNC), in-person retail sales in the Metropolitan Region marked a sharp drop of 19.9% in March, in Regarding the result in equivalent premises, the indicator marked a drop of 19.6% in real terms in the third month of the year.
Given these results, the total local face-to-face sales, despite facing a low comparison base, accumulated in the first quarter of this year a decrease of 8.0% in real terms and in terms of equivalent premises the drop was 7.2% in real terms. .
The guild report shows that only the traditional line of Supermarkets posted a 6% rise, helping the total fall of the index not be even more pronounced.
CNC By contrast, the rest of the areas recorded data in red. Thus, footwear and apparel sales fell the most with -59.3 and -56.4%, respectively. Close behind was White Line with -54.2% and Furniture with -49%.
“The retail sector, after last October’s coup, is once again hit hard by the health-economic crisis that we are going through,” says Bernardita Silva, manager of Studies at the CNC.
The executive also highlights what happened to supermarkets that “had two milestones during the third month of the year that boosted sales. First, at the beginning of the month, there was an increase in demand as a result of the social crisis we were going through and fear for the violent acts to return and with this the closure of stores. Then, in the second fortnight, the health crisis unleashed another sharp increase in demand, also due to consumer fears that the stores would close or that there would be shortages, “he explains.
And if the March figures were bad, they are expected to be even worse this month. “In a survey carried out by the CNC in April to the actors of the sector it is evident that on average they expect falls between 35% and 45% in their sales and many of them risk their subsistence“Alerts the executive.
Online sales with dissimilar data
Regarding online sales, there are different results according to categories, where clearly what is not of primary necessity, such as Clothing and Footwear, shows falls of 24.6% and 12%, respectively, while Electrical and Home Line show increases of 43 , 5% and 43.1% each, “given the high demand for teleworking and the implications of home confinement,” says Silva.
However, he adds that internet penetration, despite having risen significantly in these categories in March, “It is not yet high enough to supply the physical channel and reverse its negative results.”
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