The month of June indicated a significant growth in services provided to families and a slight contraction in retail, according to data from IGet, a Santander indicator conducted in partnership with Getnet, which monitors the performance of Brazilian retail trade.The study indicates a slowdown in economic activity in the second quarter of this year and a recovery in the economic indicators of Rio Grande do Sul, which experienced sharp declines in May due to the floods.
June's IGet results show a 2.8% monthly increase in the services index, maintaining the upward trend observed in the previous month, when it rose 3.0%. Despite the continuous monthly growth, the year-over-year performance showed a decrease of 1.3%, a slowdown compared to the 3.2% annual increase recorded in May.
June data reveal a mixed dynamic across different service segments.Accommodation and food services, for example, increased by 2.4%. marking the second consecutive expansion, after a 2.8% increase in May. On the other hand, the other services segment, which include leisure, cultural activities, beauty salons, gyms, education, among others, fell by 0.8% in June, a second consecutive decline, after a decrease of 2.3% in May.
Services provided to families showed a new acceleration in the second quarter of 2024. This growth is observed after a beginning of the year marked by significant fluctuations, which included a sharp decline in January followed by relative stability until April.
Rio Grande do Sul
IGet analyzed the retail performance in Rio Grande do Sul after the flood period to assess the economic impact the state experienced. The closed data for June shows a partial recovery from the declines recorded in May.
In the services sector, IGet In RS, a contraction of -11.7% was recorded compared to June 2023, a level close to that observed in April of this year, before the floods. In the extended retail sector, there was a 9.2% increase in June compared to the same period last year, signaling a significant recovery.
Drop in retail
In retail, June data shows a 0.2% decline, following a trend observed in previous months.The restricted index, which excludes sales of building materials and auto parts, showed a decrease of 1.7%, representing the fifth consecutive contraction.
The analysis of the retail activity composition shows heterogeneous signs.In the restricted index, only the furniture and home appliances sector did not experience a decline that month. There was a decrease in the supermarket, clothing, and fuel segments. Other personal items continued to decline, although this segment has shown high volatility in previous readings.
In the expanded index, the automobile, parts and pieces (+8.4%) and construction materials (+1.5%) sectors grew, after the declines recorded in May.
“These figures reinforce the expectation of a gradual slowdown in economic activity in the second quarter, but they also indicate a potential for recovery in the medium term, especially in regions affected by natural disasters, such as Rio Grande do Sul”, says Fabio Coelho, Vice President of Finance at Getnet.
Gabriel Couto, Santander economist responsible for IGet,It states that the monthly analysis provides valuable and up-to-date insights into the retail and services sectors in the country. "O IGet uses information from transactions in the national acquiring market and aims to expand the informational set for analyzing the trajectory of economic activity in Brazil, especially regarding the retail and services segments provided to families. Each month, we monitor the revenues of a sample of establishments that regularly use Getnet as a payment method. The sample contains anonymized information from establishments of different sizes and regions, making it a highly representative selection of these segments in the country," explains the executive.
