Retail sales grow in Europe and the US | Key4Communications | News

Retail sales rose 1.6% in the European Union during the month of November compared to the same month of 2012. The growth in monthly rate was of 1.4%, the best figure since November 2001 .

Among the countries with available data, 18 reported year-to-year increases and only Malta, Belgium and Finland published drops. The most significant increases were observed in Luxembourg (12.6%), Poland (7.2%) and Bulgaria (6.2%). The food, drinks and tobacco industries grew by 1.4 % in the euro zone and 1.1% in the EU. Sales of non-food products increased respectively by 2.4% and 3.3%.

Growth in the US
According to the analyst firm ShopperTrak, U.S. retail sales rose 2.7% in the holiday season (from Thanksgiving, November 24, until Christmas), even though the weather was adverse and there were six days less in the season.

This is the fourth consecutive year of growth and shows drive from the online channel, as visit to brick-and-mortar stores dropped by 14.6%. Online sales would have grown by 10% in this period, below the 14% expected by the company.