Retail sales in Brazil fell 1.3 percent in 2015, marking the worst performance in the past 12 years, credit consulting company Serasa Experian said on Tuesday.
According to the company's report, the result showed a significant drop compared to 2014, when retail sales were up 3.7 percent despite weak economic performance.
Serasa Experian attributed the poor result to a combination of factors, such as rising inflation, a fall in consumer confidence levels and increasing interest rates. The sales decrease was widespread, with the sharpest fall of 19 percent recorded in the automotive sector. The clothing and textiles sector registered a 3.5 percent sales fall, while the construction sector's sales fell by 2.1 percent.
An increase in the cost of living could be another factor behind the drop in retail sales. The rate increased by 11.46 percent in 2015, almost doubled the 6.73 percent growth of 2014, according to the report. The year of 2015 was also a bad year for companies in Brazil. A total of 1,783 companies filed for bankrauptcy over the past year, the highest number since the country's Bankcruptcy Law came into force in June 2005.
Brazil is in a deepening economic crisis as it grapples with rising unemployment, stagnant growth and soaring inflation. Experts have forecasted a 3.7-percent contraction in its gross domestic product (GDP) for 2015 and sluggish prospects in 2016, according to the Central Bank of Brazil.
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