Turnover decreased by 7.3% in food and food-related mixed retail stores

The turnover in food and food-type mixed retail stores decreased by 7.3%, in non-food retail stores by 10.9%, and in fuel retail by 25.9%, the sales volume adjusted for the calendar effect . However, the decrease in fuel turnover can significantly reduce the import of crude oil and oil products, contributing to the improvement of the external balance. The volume of sales increased by 4.6% in pharmaceutical, medical product and perfume stores, by 15.8% in second-hand goods stores, by 16.2% in textile, clothing and footwear stores, , by 5.9% in other industrial goods stores, and by 20.1-19.5% in mixed industrial goods and furniture and technical goods stores. The volume of mail order and internet retail, covering a wide range of goods and accounting for 78% of the retail turnover, decreased by 9.3%. Compared to the average of 2015, retail turnover increased by 24.4% and compared to 2010 by 36.8%.

In addition to the high base caused by last year’s six-month gun money payments, the significant drop in retail turnover is caused by the exceptionally high – albeit decreasing – inflation and the significant increase in household energy prices for households that exceed the average consumption. The decline in the turnover of food stores is still strong, in addition to the above, due to more conscious purchases and the avoidance of food waste. More conscious and cautious purchases are reflected by the fact that the increase in sales revenue lags behind wage dynamics, and the decrease in volume lags behind the decrease in real wages, which suggests that households are increasing their savings.