Across the eurozone, retail sales rose slightly in March, but sales in Portugal tumbled further.
The euro region overall had a 0.3% growth compared to the previous month of February.
In Portugal, however, there was a steep drop of -1.7%. In fact, this was the largest decrease out of all the 18 single currency countries.
But sales in March 2014 compared to March 2013 showed that retailers in Portugal could welcome the slight rise of 1.1%.
Portugal was not alone, as monthly sales totals fell in Austria, Germany, Ireland and Spain but increased in France and Belgium.
March sales of food, drinks and tobacco in the euro area, up by 1.3%. At the same time, there was a -0.3% fall in sales of non-food items, such as clothing, electrical goods, and computer equipment.
