Retail sales increased during February in Colombia

The Colombian Ministry of Commerce reported that during February 2022 retail sales showed an increase of 4.9% compared to the same month last year, when the third peak of the covid-19 pandemic was recorded.

The trade portfolio noted that with this increase in the retail sector in the country, which was documented by the Office of Economic Studies, there are already thirteen months of sustained growth, while noting that 13 of the 19 sectors analyzed by the Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported positive variation in this period.

“According to this report, we can see that, despite the increase in inflation, the sector has performed well both in terms of sales and employment generation, which shows that Colombia continues to undergo safe economic growth,” said Minister of Commerce, María Ximena Lombana.

He also indicated that the largest increases were reported in sectors such as vehicle fuels with an increase of 10.1 per cent; spare parts and lubricants with 16.9%; clothing with 29 per cent; footwear and goods were with 48.8 per cent; and personal and cosmetic hygiene with 7.5 per cent; while there has been an increase in employment in this sector of 2.2 per cent, which demonstrates a momentum in the country's economic recovery.

Similarly, the positive trend was recorded especially in the departments of Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Santander, Valle, Atlántico and Bogotá, which was reflected in the increase in employment, an impact that covered almost all 32 departments, with the exception of Valle del Cauca.

“The good sales performance was confirmed by the Commercial Confidence Index measured by Fedesarrollo, which stood at 37.4% in February. This represents an increase of 3.2 percentage points compared to the same month last year. Similarly, the survey carried out by Fenalco reported an increase in sales of 42% of the merchants consulted,” stressed the Ministry of Commerce.

In January of this year, retail sales continued on the path of growth, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. According to an analysis by the Office of Economic Studies of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, based on figures from DANE, in the first month of this year the increase in retail sales was 20.9% compared to the same period in 2021.

The report highlighted that the 19 retail trade sectors analysed reported growth. The greatest increase was recorded in sectors such as vehicles, with a variation of 70.6 per cent; fuels with 16.6 per cent; motorcycles with 30.4 per cent; clothing with 71.4 per cent, and footwear with 97.3%.

According to the Industry and Commerce portfolio, the good performance of this sector also led to an increase in employment of 2.2 per cent. By region, sales dynamics were recorded in all departments measured by DANE, with Antioquia, Cundinamarca, Santander, Valle, Atlántico and Bogotá standing out.

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