Greece - Real Retail Sales

For Greece, a Eurostat-standard retail trade turnover index, detailed by retail-specific aggregates over NACE. Monthly from 2000.

The source writes:

Introduction

The Retail Trade Turnover Index is a continuation of the Retail Sales Value Index compiled by the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG) during the period of 1963-2004. After being compiled for the first time in 1963, with January 1963=100.0 as the base period, the Retail Sales Value Index was subsequently updated with new base periods of January 1967=100.0, June 1974=100.0, January 1988=100.0, the year 1995=100.0, the year 2000=100.0 and the year 2005=100.0.

During the revision of the Index (2000=100.0), pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics, it was deemed necessary to change its name to “Retail Trade Turnover Index” and introduce the measurement of volume changes in retail trade by calculating the “Retail Trade Volume Index.”

The new NACE Rev. 2 Classification was used for the last revision of the “Retail Trade Turnover Index” (base year 2005=100.0) in conjunction with the calculation of the Turnover and Retail Trade Volume Indices with the inclusion and non inclusion of automotive fuel.

Purpose of the index - Input data

The purpose of the Retail Trade Turnover Index is to show the performance of the goods market. The index does not cover other activities, such as provision of services; it is self-weighting and corrected on the basis of the number of working days in each month but is not seasonally corrected. Turnover comprises the total amounts invoiced by the enterprise during the reference period, which correspond to the resale of goods without any further transformation. The data collected each month refer to sales affected (both retail and wholesale), excluding VAT but including other duties and taxes on the goods.

The sales volume represents the turnover value, at constant prices, and is a quantum index. It can be calculated as the turnover at current prices, deflated by applying the sales deflator, or as a quantum index derived directly from the quantity of goods sold.

Updating the Index – Statistical Classification

Pursuant to Regulation No 1165/98, the Retail Trade Turnover Index, like other short-term statistics variables, is updated every five years in years ending in 0 or 5. The purpose of updating the Retail Trade Turnover Index is to adapt the index to changes in the breakdown of retail trade by renewing the sample of enterprises surveyed and reduction factors used.

During the last revision of the Retail Trade Turnover Index, with the year 2005=100.0 as the base period, the new EU (Eurostat) NACE Rev.2 statistical classification of economic activities was used, in conformity with Regulation (EC) 1893/2006 of the Council and the European Parliament. The most important change in the Retail Trade section of the new NACE Rev. 2 classification, compared to NACE Rev. 1, is that the retail sale of automotive fuel and lubricants is classified under retail trade and not under the “trade, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles” division of NACE Rev. 1.

The revised Retail Trade Turnover Index (2005=100,0), according to the new NACE Rev. 2 classification covers the economic activity divisions identified by codes 4711 to 4799 inclusive. The revised Retail Trade Turnover Index (base year 2005=100,0) was based on the data of the Business Register compiled from administrative sources, in accordance with the turnover data of retail trade enterprises in the year 2005.

The time series of the revised Retail Trade Turnover and Volume Indices (2005=100.0), which include fuel are published since 2005, whereas the time series of the same indices, which do not include fuel are published since 1995 and include the indices derived from reduction (period, January 1995 – December 2008) and the indices from January 2009 that are calculated on the basis of turnover data from the new sample of surveyed enterprises and on the basis of the information obtained from these new reduction factors.

The data of the Retail Trade Turnover and Volume Indices are announced monthly, on specified dates, sixty (60) days after the end of the data reference month.

The data are presented in a Press Release and published in the NSSG’s regular issues: the Monthly Statistical Bulletin, the Concise Statistical Yearbook and the Statistical Yearbook of Greece.

Further reading

At the source: 

• Retail trade (Turnover Index and Volume Index)