Better end-of-year performance from Hungary’s retail sector than the European average

Retail value sales augmented by 4.5 percent in the last quarter of 2016 in Hungary if compared with Q4 2016 – revealed the quarterly Nielsen Growth Reporter. This performance was much better than the 1.8-percent European average in the same period. Volume sales improved by 0.4 percent. Grocery sales were up 4.3 percent, while sales in the drug category rose 5.2 percent. Consumer insight leader Balázs Homonnai told: sales are shifting towards more expensive channels and the market is undergoing a premiumisation process.

In Europe 21 countries were surveyed and in Q4 2016 the sales growth was the biggest in Turkey (8.8 percent), followed by Poland (4.7 percent) and Hungary. In Europe the growth rate of the economy is stable at 1.3 percent. However, the 0.4-percent increase (in value) in industrial production in 2016 was the lowest since 2013. In the second half of 2016 there was stronger nominal growth and volume turnover improved as well – in part thanks to the countries of Central Europe. /