Insee Première · March 2024 · n° 1989

Retail outlets expanded their sales floor in sparsely populated areas

In 2020, 272,000 retail and commercial handicraft shops were located in France excluding Mayotte, compared with 283,000 in 2015. The number of retail outlets per inhabitant fell in every department. This decline was more marked in urban areas and rural market towns than in rural areas with dispersed habitat.

At the same time, the average sales floor of retail outlets increased throughout France. This increase was higher in rural areas with dispersed habitat, particularly for leisure, culture, information and communications technologies shops, as well as personal and household goods shops.

Between 2015 and 2020, the sales floor per inhabitant of specialist food and commercial handicraft shops increased in urban areas and rural market towns while that of non-specialised food shops increased in rural areas with dispersed habitat.