Sales in physical stores fall on the country and the fastest growing online retail 36.2%

São Paulo – while sales in physical stores recorded fall in March, Commerce recorded an increase of 36.2% in comparison with the same period last year, shows the report '' SpendingPulse "published by banner of Mastercard cards.
It''s the largest increase since October 2012, according to the study.
Mastercard''s data show that online sales had increased 26 percent in the first quarter compared with the same stage last year.
At the same time, the report also reveals 2% drop in total sales in the first quarter of 2017 compared to last quarter of 2016, when recorded low of 4.6%.
In March, the volume of total retail sales fell by about 1.6 physical% compared to the same period in 2016, according to the report.
Sales of the South and Southeast regions recorded the smallest.
The study highlights that sectors such as supermarkets, pharmaceutical articles, building material and articles of personal use and household had better than average performance.
However, sectors such as furniture, appliances, clothing, and fuel had weaker performance.
About the performance in Brazilian regions in March 2017, the study shows that South and Southeast presented the smallest (-0.9%) and (-0.5%), respectively, while North (-3.3), Northeast ( -3%) and Midwest (-4.1%) had weaker performance.
The Director of Economic Research of Mastercard Advisors, Kamalesh Rao, in the statement sent to the press that, although the Brazilian economic environment presents challenges, especially because of the high rate of unemployment and the deterioration of wages, it is expected a "gradual improvement" in the retail trade, especially in e-commerce.