Puerto Rico retail sales up $20.1M in October
Puerto Rico’s retail sale saw a $20.1 million increase in October, when activity exceeded $3.22 billion, Puerto Rico Trade and Export, the government agency that tracks this economic sector, said Wednesday.
The recent total represents a 0.63 percent growth when compared to October 2013 sales of $3.20 billion. The slight uptick was primarily due to increased sales in supermarkets, pharmacies, furniture stores, department stores and gas stations, agency Executive Director Francisco Chévere said.
The 0.63 percent growth in retail sales was above the rate of inflation in Puerto Rico, where it increased by 0.5 percent between October 2013 and October 2014, he said.
“Eleven of the retail sectors reflected increases in October 2014, percentage-wise. Businesses that reflected the largest increases in sales were variety stores, with 9.43 percent, furniture stores with 8.6 percent, and footwear stores with 4.63 percent,” said Chévere.
The report also showed that small businesses reported an increase in sales of 1.08 percent to $846 million in October. The segment’s retail sales accounted for 71.5 percent of total business among Puerto Rico’s establishments in October 2014, Puerto Rico Trade said.
Retail sales in Puerto Rico registered positive growth in seven of the first 10 months of 2014, when cumulative sales showed a 74 percent growth when compared to the same period of 2013. Total cumulative sales for the first 10 months of 2014 amounted to $30.4 billion, representing a $224.9 million increase when compared to the same January-October period of 2013.
“These numbers show that from January to October 2014, retail sales have remained stable with a clear upward trend in the aggregate, compared to the previous year and we are confident that the end of 2014 will uphold this trend,” Chévere said.