Retail Sales up 2.5% in October

Sales registered for October 2022 amounted to $3,157.17 million dollars, when compared with the same month in 2021 it represents an increase of 2.5%. Compared to the previous month, this is a 11.6% increase from September 2022 that had a total of $2,828.34 million in sales.

The five sectors with the highest reported increases during October 2022 were:  Sporting Goods, Musical Instruments, and Entertainment (21.5%); Specialty Food stores (14.2%); Hardware and Home Improvement (12.9%); Supermarkets and Alcoholic Beverage stores (12.3%); and Pharmacies (11.8%). 

The five sectors that experienced the largest reductions during October 2022 were: Electronic Articles Stores (-18.7%); New and Used Motor Vehicles (-10.5%); Auto Parts Stores (-9%); Jewelry, Baggage and Leather Articles Stores (-5.4%); and Clothing Stores (-4.3%).

The only group that experienced a decline in October 2022 compared to the same month in 2021 was the Small Business sales group experiencing a 7.4% decline with $120.23 million in sales. The other groups meanwhile increased in sales. Medium Business sales registered a 1.1% increase with $831.08 million in sales; Large Non-Chain establishments increasing by 4% with $375.36 in sales; and Large Chains sales which increased by 3.5% with $1,830 million in sales for October 2022.

The accumulated value of Retail Sales during the ten (10) months of the current calendar year 2022 (January-October) reached figures of $30,525.8 million during the present period. Compared to the same period of the previous calendar year of 2021, this was a 0.7% increase.

The five (5) sectors with the highest increases reported during the current period of the calendar year 2022 were: Fuel distributors (31.9%); Gas stations and convenience stores (15.4%); Restaurants and places of alcoholic beverages (12%); Supermarket and alcoholic beverage stores (7.2%); and Special Food Stores (6.1%).

The five (5) sectors experiencing the most significant reductions during current period of the calendar year 2022 were: Sports, Musical Instruments and Entertainment stores (-14.1%); Shoe stores (-13.5%); Electronics stores (-12.8%); Cosmetics, Beauty Products and Perfumes stores (-11.4%); and Furniture stores (-10.5%).

In terms of accumulated sales during this period of the 2022 calendar year only Large Chain sales with $17,303.08 million in sales experienced a reduction of 0.8% when compared to the same period of the previous calendar year. The other groups had positive changes with Small Businesses sales experiencing an increase of 0.1% with $1,303.38 million in sales; Medium Businesses sales experienced an increase of 0.5% with $7,490.22 million in sales; and the group with the highest increase of Large Non-Chain companies increasing by 7.3% with $4,429.12 million in sales for the current accumulated period of 2022.

Retail sales decrease in September due to Fiona

Sales registered for September 2022 amounted to $2,828.3 million dollars, which represents a decrease of 3.6%, if we compare it with the same month in 2021. When compared to the previous month, this is a -14.1% decrease from August 2022.

The groups with the highest reported increases were: Fuel distributors (+45.3%); Supermarkets and alcoholic beverage stores (+11.4%); Restaurants and places of alcoholic beverages (+8.1%); Specialty food stores (+7.4%); and Gas stations and convenience stores (+7.2%). The groups that experienced the largest reductions during September 2022 were: Yard and garden equipment (-44.8%); Shoe stores (-40.8%); Sports, musical instruments, and entertainment stores (-37.5%); dealers of new and used motor vehicles (-30.3%); and Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores (-25.7%).

Retail Sales of SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) during September 2022 reached $849.0 million, which decreased by 5.3% at an annual rate. Small business sales experienced a 9.8% decline, as well as Medium business sales registered a 4.4% drop. Sales of Large Non-Chain establishments decreased by 4.1%, as did the sales of Large Chains, which fell by 2.6% in September 2022.

The accumulated value of Retail Sales during the nine (9) months of the current calendar year 2022 (January-September), presents an increase of 0.4%, compared to the same period of the previous calendar year of 2021. During the present period of year 2022, these have reached the figure of $27,368.6 million.

The groups with the highest increases reported during the current period of fiscal year 2022 were: Fuel distributors (+34.8%); Gas stations and convenience stores (+16.8%); Restaurants and places of alcoholic beverages (+12.1%); Supermarket and alcoholic beverage stores (+6.6%%); and Special Food Stores (+5.1%).

The following types of stores experienced the most significant reductions during this calendar period: Sports, musical instruments and entertainment stores (-17.5%); Shoe stores (-15.2%); Cosmetics, beauty products and perfumes stores (-12.5%); Electronics stores (-12.1%) and Furniture stores (-11.8%).

Accumulated sales of SMEs during this period of the 2022 calendar year increased by 0.5%, when compared to the same period of the previous calendar year. Small businesses experienced an increase of 0.9%, while Medium businesses experienced an increase of 0.4%. Large Non-Chain companies increased 7.7%, while Large Chains reflected a drop of 1.3% in the current accumulated period of 2022.

Puerto Rico Retail Sales Up 4% in January

Source: Puerto Rico Economic Development Department

Retail sales in Puerto Rico for the month of January 2022 reached a total of $2.667 billion. Compared to January 2021, sales increased by $103 million, or 4%. Compared to January 2020, sales increased by $200 million, or 8%.

The categories with the largest year over year percentage increases were special food stores (53.9%), fuel distributors (33.6%), and electronics and appliance stores (25.9%). The largest absolute increases in sales relative to 2021 were department stores ($50 million), supermarkets ($46 m), and pharmacies ($25 m).

The categories with the largest year over year decreases in sales were sporting good and hobby stores (33.3%), furniture stores (20.9%), and hardware stores (17.4%).

Compared to January 2020, the following categories had lower sales in January 2022:

Supermarket sales have continued to increase. Nominal sales show an increase of 14.8% compared to January 2020. Adjusting for inflation takes away most of this growth, showing instead a 6.6% real increase in sales.

Source: Puerto Rico Economic Development Department

Even with the increase in COVID cases due to the omicron variant, and the decrease in economic activity due to it, retail sales still increased. And as we saw with supermarket sales, even with inflation currently above 4%, sales still increased. Given the over $60 billion in COVID transfers to individuals that happened in 2020 and 2021, we may still be experiencing the spillover effects of the increased liquidity provided by these funds. These funds running out, coupled with decreasing consumer confidence, could lead to lower retail sales as we finish the first quarter of 2022.