Retail sales fall

In December 2002, compared to December 2001, the volume of retail trade decreased by 1.9 per cent in the euro-zone and by 0.7 per cent in the EU15, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities in Luxembourg, estimates. Compared to November 2002, sales fell by 1.1 per cent per cent in the euro-zone and by 0.9 per cent in the EU15. Compared to December 2001, and among the Member States for which data are available, the highest growth rates were observed in Sweden (+5.9 per cent), the United Kingdom (+3.0 per cent) and Italy (+2.1 per cent). The strongest decreases were observed in Germany (-5.0 per cent), Portugal (-4.9 per cent) and Belgium (-3.5 per cent).
You can find up-to-date retail statistics for all the countries of the EU in DIYglobal plus under Market data (v. Other articles on this topic).