Retail sales in Brazil’s physical stores drop 4.4% in first quarter – Mastercard

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In March, the drop stood at 7% compared to the same month in 2020.

Retail sales in physical stores fell by 4.4% in the first quarter this year compared to the same period last year, according to a new survey by SpendingPulse, from Mastercard. In March, the drop was 7% compared to the same month in 2020.

Mastercard SpendingPulse is a macroeconomic indicator of retail sales across all payment types in selected global markets.

The reports are based on aggregate sales activity on Mastercard’s payment network, combined with research-based estimates for certain other payment methods, such as cash and check.

According to Mastercard Brazil general manager Estanislau Bassols, the movement was driven by changing consumer habits in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“A number of establishments are now going online because the habit of shopping geared towards e-commerce is permanent. And this becomes even more evident when we look at the decline in physical retail,” Bassols told Folha.

The trend, according to the executive, is that more and more businesses will be born or migrate completely to online over the next few months. Also according to SpendingPulse, in terms of total retail sales in the first quarter, all regions showed a lower performance than the sales observed in the same period of 2020.

The Midwest fell 7.1% in the comparison, followed by South (5.6%), Southeast (4.1%), Northeast (3.9%) and North (0.3%).

“E-commerce has gained ground with respect to both small and large companies. One thing we have already been able to predict about this movement is that at least 20% of the migration we have seen to e-commerce is permanent,” said Bassols.

In relation to e-commerce sales, Mastercard’s survey registered an advance of 91.6% in the first quarter this year against the same three months in 2020. In March, on the same basis of comparison, the advance was 84.7%.

Compared to the same period last year, the electronics and pharmacy sectors stood out, with increases of 134.1% and 102.4%, respectively.