The study states “the purchasing power of the Portuguese grew slowly in the face of the European Union average with the per capita average attaining €6,437 due to the decrease in the unemployment rate.”

This stands against the European Union average spending power of €15,948 for consumption in 2015, which includes expenditure on housing, savings and pensions.

The retail based study said that the sector would continue to steadily recover with an overall 1.1% expansion spanning highpoints such as the 7.2% expected of Rumania and almost 5% across the Baltic states and Sweden whilst Portugal is expected to be little changed but down 0.3%.

The report also said that European consumers were benefitting from the slide in energy and fuel prices “with a rise in the private wealth in many of the countries under analysis.”

In the case of Portugal, the retail segment accounted for 33.4% of total consumer spending in 2015.