In December 2011, compared with November 2011, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.4% in the eurozone, but rose by 0.3% in the EU27, Eurostat reported, on 3 February. In a monthly comparison, the food, drinks and tobacco sector fell by 0.2% in the eurozone and increased by 0.3% in the EU27. The non-food sector slipped by 0.1% in the eurozone and expanded by 0.3% in the EU27.

Among member states for which data are available, total retail trade fell in 11, remained unchanged in Ireland and Sweden and rose in eight states. The sharpest declines were registered in Malta and Slovenia (-3.1% each) and Latvia (-2%), and the largest increases in Portugal (+2.2%), Belgium (+1.5%) and Poland (+0.7%).

In a yearly comparison, December 2011, compared with December 2010, the retail trade index slipped by 1.6% in the eurozone and rose by 0.1% in the EU27. The food, drinks and tobacco sector dropped by 1.3% in the eurozone and by 0.6% in the EU27. The non-food sector slipped by 1.5% in the eurozone but grew by 0.8% in the EU27.

Among member states for which data are available, total retail trade fell in ten and rose in eleven. The largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-8.8%), Spain (-5.3%) and Slovakia (-3.3%), and the highest increases in Lithuania (+13%), Latvia (+7.1%) and the United Kingdom (+6.3%).

Compared with 2010, the average volume of retail trade index for 2011 slipped by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 0.1% in the EU27.