Austrians do feel like buying

Austria is Hungary’s fourth biggest food export market, with an 8-percent share in our EUR 1.94-billion food export in Q1 2016 – reported the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (AKI). In Q1 2016 FMCG sales were up 1.4 percent (calculated without Lidl and Hofer) in Austria and the level of inflation was 1 percent. FMCG retail is very much concentrated in Austria: there are 7 grocery stores for every 10,000 people (in Hungary there are 17). 400-999m² supermarkets realised 56 percent of sales in both Q1 2015 and Q1 2016.

Hypermarkets’ share from sales was stable at 33 percent. 250-399 shops’ share from sales was 6 percent, while those smaller than 250m² were at 5 percent in both first quarters examined. In Q2 2016 the confidence index of Austrian consumers was 4 points higher than the 79-point European average. Austrians are more satisfied with their financial situation than the European average, and in accordance with this their willingness to purchase is also bigger.