According to seasonally adjusted data, consumption in December contracted by 0.8% compared to November and by 3.2% compared to December 2019.
Impacted by the coronavirus crisis, it was the tenth month in a row that retail sales had declined, after registering a contraction of 0.7% in November.
Retail sales of non-food products in December, excluding motor oils and lubricants, fell by 5.5% on the year, while sales of food, beverages and tobacco products increased by 4.7%.
Retail trade for the entire year fell by 5.8% in real terms.
Recession continues
The continued contraction in retail sales in December was due to weak personal consumption in the current coronavirus crisis.
The drop in consumption is one of the leading causes of recession as personal consumption is the largest component of gross domestic product (GDP).
Year on year, GDP plunged by a record 15.4% in Q2 2020 and by 10% in Q3 2020.
Restrictive measures imposed at the end of November to contain the second wave of the coronavirus infection had a negative impact on the economy in Q4 too, with the recession continuing in that quarter as well.
