Türkiye's retail sales stable in March

ANKARA

Türkiye's retail sales was stable in March compared to a month earlier, according to data released on Monday.

The volume of retail trade showed 0% month-on-month growth in March, following a 3.6% rise in February, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.

Retail sales volume for non-food – except automotive fuel – rose by 0.3% and for food, drinks, and tobacco by 0.9%.

Automotive fuel sales, on the other hand, decreased 1.8% in the same period.

Among non-food items, electronic goods and furniture saw the largest decline with 1.8%, while medical goods and cosmetic sales posted the largest increase with 1.7% in the month.

On an annual basis, retail sales soared 19.5% in March, slowing from 25.2% in February.

Non-food sales – except automotive fuel – jumped 27.8% year-on-year in March.

Sales of food, drinks, and tobacco gained 12.4% compared to last year, while automotive fuel sales fell 2.4%, the TurkStat data showed.