Eurozone retail sales declined more than expected in August as subdued consumer confidence and weak wage growth damped consumption, data from Eurostat showed on Wednesday. The retail sales volume slid 1.2 percent on a monthly basis, slower than the 0.1 percent fall in July. This was the second consecutive drop and also worse than economists' forecast of 0.3 percent drop.
Food, drinks and tobacco registered a monthly fall of 1.2 percent and non-food product sales slid 0.9 percent.
Mail orders and internet sales posted the biggest decrease of 4.5 percent. Sales of automotive fuel declined 3.0 percent, data showed.
On a yearly basis, the decline in retail sales deepened to 2.1 percent in August from 1.0 percent in July. Sales were expected to decline 1.2 percent.
"With eurozone data continuing to surprise to the downside, a downturn in economic activity remains a real risk for the short-term," ING economist Bert Colijn said.
