Retail sales in February fall 2.2%, says MasterCard

Sao Paulo-Brazilian retail sales retreated 2.2 percent in February and fall less intense than in previous months has contributed to the slowing of shrinkage in the quarter.
Second, Kamalesh Rao, responsible for research Speeding Pulse, or the improvement of consumer confidence was enough to "bring more life to the retail".
"The slight increase in the rate of defaults and credit reduction, combined with high household debt, pointing to a continued weakness of consumer spending," he said.
According to the report, between December and February, the retail decline was in 7.6%, compared to 8.9 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2015.
According to the company, "part on the reaction of February was due to the calendar effect in February: an extra day due to leap year."
The effect is also appointed as one of the responsible for the high of 7.0% in e-commerce in the second month of the year in comparison with the same period in 2015.
MasterCard estimates that, in March, the e-commerce must register an increase in sales due to consumers '' Day.
Of the seven sectors considered in the survey, four had performed above the full content in February: pharmaceutical Articles, building materials, supermarkets and personal property.
On the other hand, the segments of furniture and electronics, clothes and fuel were below the overall average.
Geographic division was decrease in all regions in December. The sharpest downturn was registered in the Center-West ( -6.5%), followed by North ( -5.4%) South ( -4.1%). The Northeast and Southeast regions had setbacks less intense, of 1.2% and 1.3%, respectively.
Methodology
The SpendingPulse is a macroeconomic indicator that reports on retail spending and performance of national consumption.
The report is based on sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check.
The report, and estimates of spending trends, do not reflect or relate to the operational and financial performance of MasterCard.