Surveys on trade sector: a comparison between qualitative and quantitative indicators

Abstract

Data from qualitative surveys are often considered complementary to quantitative data when analysing the short-term economic evolution. This paper aims at investigating the retail trade sector, comparing data stemming from the different kinds of surveys conducted by Istat, providing qualitative and quantitative data on monthly and quarterly basis. This study compares the Retail Trade Confidence Index (NACE rev.2, G45 and G47), a business sentiment indicator, along with quantitative data from Retail Trade Survey (NACE rev.2 G47) and Turnover in Services Survey (NACE rev.2 G45) concerning years from 2010 through 2019. Despite the shortness of the available time series and the different features of the samples involved, interesting findings emerged when observing the performance of a new ‘ad hoc’ index (which was built including both the economic activities examined by the quantitative surveys) and when comparing the above-mentioned indicators applying ADL models.