Brazil Retail Sales Fall in December

Retail sales fell 0.4% month-over-month in December 2025, after rising 1.0% in November. Six of eight core activities declined: pharmaceuticals (-5.1%), books (-2.0%), other personal goods (-1.8%), furniture and appliances (-0.7%), apparel (-0.4%), and supermarkets (-0.3%). Office and IT equipment increased 6.0%, and fuels rose 0.3%. Extended retail, which includes vehicles, construction materials, and wholesale food, dropped 1.2% month-over-month. Vehicles fell 2.4%, and construction materials declined 2.8%. Year-on-year, retail sales rose 2.3%. In 2025, the sector expanded 1.6%, marking the ninth consecutive annual increase.

Retail sales in Brazil rose by 1% from the previous month in November of 2025, extending the 0.5% increase from October and firmly ahead of market expectations of a 0.3% increase, marking the sharpest pace of expansion in nearly two years. Retail turnover was sharply higher in supermarkets and food retailers (1% vs 0% in October), furniture and household appliances (2.3% vs 0.3%), pharmaceutical goods (2.2% vs 0.4%), and books and stationery (1.5%) vs 0.9%). Conversely, retail fell for fuel and lubricants (0.6% vs 1.7%).

Brazil’s retail sales rose 0.5% in October 2025 from September, beating expectations of a 0.2% decline and following an upwardly revised 0.2% drop. It was the strongest monthly gain since March. Seven of the eight segments advanced, led by office and IT equipment (3.2%), fuels (1.4%), and furniture and appliances (1.0%), while apparel was the only category to fall (-0.3%). Nineteen of 27 states posted monthly increases, with the strongest results in Espírito Santo, Rondônia, and the Federal District. In the expanded retail index, which includes vehicles, auto parts, and building materials, sales climbed 1.1%, supported by gains in vehicles (3.0%) and construction materials (0.6%). Year-on-year, retail trade rose 1.1%, after a 0.8% expansion in September.