Retail sales weaken in March, growing by only 1%

SANTIAGO.- According to the Sales Index, determined by the Research Department of the Chilean National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism, retail sales in the Metropolitan Region (RM) have exhibited a weak performance for March of this year, growing by only 1.0% when compared to the same month during 2007.

The CNC has asserted that the minimal increase, after the relatively improved situation observed during the first two months of the year, can partially be attributed to the hike in food prices, especially perishables – which continues to negatively affect Traditional Supermarket Lines and lower consumer expectations. 

The fact that Holy Week fell in March of this year also seems to have had some influence, since the holiday implies a massive surge of people leaving Santiago and a change in the composition of family spending.

Including the results obtained for March, commercial activity closed out the first trimester of 2008 with an average growth of 2.2%, which is lower than the accumulated growth figure of 3.0% observed during the first two months of the year.