Retail trade

Barometer (monthly business survey)

According to the retailers interviewed, in December 2018, the business climate remains unfavorable in the retail trade and in the trade and repair of motor vehicles.

Standardized summary indicator (average=100 and standard deviation=10)

Download the retail trade business survey methodology

Observatory

The retail sector comprised 801 operational businesses in 2017, representing 8.6% of all businesses in the Principality.

More than 29% of businesses active in 2017 were started between 2013 and 2017. Half of them were at least 10 years old. The average age of a business in the sector is 14.4 years, compared with 13.0 across all sectors.

With total turnover of EUR 1.4 billion in 2017, retail trade is the fourth largest contributor in terms of turnover, excluding financial and insurance activities, behind wholesale trade, construction, and scientific and technical activities, administrative and support services. Retail trade accounts for 10.6% of the Principality’s total turnover, excluding financial and insurance activities.

Turnover in the sector fell 4.5% compared with 2016, which was a record year, but nonetheless kept pace with 2015.

The motor vehicle sector and shops selling personal attire have seen the largest growth in terms of turnover since 2001. In 2017, turnover in the motor vehicle sector accounted for 33.2% of retail trade, up six points on 2010. Car sales have experienced average annual growth of 7.2% since 2001, compared with 3.6% for traditional retail sales (excluding cars).

In terms of numbers of employees, the retail sector is the seventh largest, excluding domestic staff. In December 2017, the sector employed 2,769 people, or 5.8% of the Principality’s total workforce, excluding domestic staff.

The retail sector has the second largest proportion of women in the workforce, behind the government, teaching, health and social work sector, with women accounting for 54.1% of employees, compared with an average of 38.2% across all sectors (excluding domestic staff). There are differences within the retail sector depending on the type of activity: 73.8% of staff in shops selling personal attire are women, but this figure drops to 22.1% in the motor vehicle sector.