The retail sales sector achieved a significant recovery during the last year. The head of the Ministry of Production (Produce), Jorge Luis Prado, pointed out that the good performance of the sector was driven by the increase in household consumption and the greater offers and campaigns carried out by specialized stores.
Thus, retail sales of domestic trade amounted to S/ 47,000 million 398,000 in 2021, an amount that meant an increase of 18.4% compared to 2020 and 17.2% compared to 2019, before the pandemic, according to Produce.
Regarding the number of jobs, the Ministry reported that retail trade generated more than 111,462 jobs last year. Of the total, 53.3% were women. Likewise, the permanent staff represented 79.2% of the total employment generated by this segment.
Internal trade figures in 2021
Department store sales grew 62.3% in 2021. The result was driven by higher sales of clothing (+78.7%), household items (+44.7%), furniture ( +27.2%) and miscellaneous products (+18.6%).
The rebound in sales is mainly due “to a significant increase in sales in the first half (+123.0%) due to the reopening of stores and the lifting of capacity restrictions in Lima as well as in the provinces,” indicates Produce.
Results for commercial activities
Regarding the activity of hardware stores, sales increased by 47.9%, due to the sale of various products (+48.8%), household items (+27.9%) and hardware items (+ 50.8%), being driven by higher demand from the construction sector.
Sales of the home equipment activity grew by 25.7%, explained by the increase in sales in the lines of household items (+23.2%), miscellaneous products (+21.4%) and furniture (+344.9%), due to a greater demand from the population for products for home improvement.
Meanwhile, sales in the activity of supermarkets and hypermarkets grew (+5.4%), driven mainly by the increase in sales of household items (+20.4%), miscellaneous products (8.9%) and clothing (+5.6%).
Finally, sales in pharmacies and drugstores increased slightly by 2.2% due to the greater demand of the population for personal care products, which increased by 14.1%. In contrast, this growth was attenuated by lower sales of pharmaceutical and medicinal products (-0.6%).
Source: Larepublica
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