Sales dropped less for both food, beverages & tobacco (-4.2% vs -5.3% in June) and non-food products (-3.6% vs -6.2%).

On the other hand, sales accelerated for automotive fuel (13.7% vs 12.5%).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity rose by 0.1% in July, decelerating from a 0.3% growth in the previous month, data showed.