The volume of retail sales fell 0.8 percent in October compared with the previous month, and it decreased by 2.1 percent on a yearly basis, said Eurostat.

    Economists had forecast a month-on-month decrease of 0.4 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 1.5 percent in retail trade.

    The retail trade figures in September remained unchanged compared with August and fell 1.4 percent compared with the same month last year.

    The retail trade volume in the 27-nation EU in October dipped 0.3 percent from September and dropped 0.8 percent year-on-year, said the Eurostat.

    Retail sales of "food, drinks and tobacco" declined by 0.5 percent in the eurozone, but rose by 0.1 percent in the EU. While the non-food sector decreased by 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent in the eurozone and the EU respectively, according to Eurostat.