Retail turnover accelerated on an annual basis, but fell compared to February – sector outlook
As expected, weaker data came from stores: retail sales decreased by 0.6% in February compared to January, while there was an annual increase of 3.3%. On a fixed basis, we managed to exceed the 2021 average level by 1.3%. The monthly slowdown covers a wide range of stores, while the annual growth was driven by the food trade and the pharmaceutical and fragrance categories. According to store managers and retail property owners, March data will not be strong either, and the traffic dynamics are more similar to February than to January, and in addition, last year’s March traffic was also boosted by Easter, so a strong base effect can be expected this year.
However, Monitorblog expects that the introduction of the retail margin cap on March 17 will cause a resurgence in turnover after the weaker February and the first week or two of March, meaning that from the perspective of the growing trend, the February data looks like a one-off negative correction. At the same time, the government promises announced at the end of February and the margin cap system have not yet had an impact on consumer confidence, as consumers were still in high uncertainty in March, which is further strengthened by the high – albeit slightly decreasing – food inflation and the weakening forint exchange rate. According to the confidence indices, trade is no longer the most pessimistic sector, but consumer confidence still stagnated in March. The inflationary effects of the margin cap may appear in the next data release, the March data, which will be released tomorrow.
Related news
Retail sales growth accelerated in Poland and unemployment fell in April
In Poland, retail sales in April accelerated strongly in April,…
Read more >Barcodes are being replaced after half a century
A new era in retail is about to begin: the…
Read more >The gap between wages and retail sales growth is widening
Last year, 39% of salaries were spent in retail, which…
Read more >Related news
Saving money, searching online, hunting for deals – this is how Europe will shop in 2025
58% of European shoppers still don’t expect their purchasing power…
Read more >Hamburger picture 2025 – this is how Hungarians eat hamburgers
Hungary’s undisputed favourite is the beef burger – preferably loaded…
Read more >A campaign to encourage the consumption of Trappist cheese has been launched
The Ministry of Agriculture (MA) and the Agricultural Marketing Center…
Read more >