Katalin Neubauer: We hope that retail can now return to the old, pre-Covid way of funkctioning

Statistics reflect this improvement with the retail sales volume in March increasing by 3.6% in raw data and 4.2% when adjusted for calendar effects, compared to the same period last year. The largest growth was seen in food and mixed retail stores, with a 5.7% increase, while fuel retail grew by 3.3%, and non-food retail saw a modest rise of 0.6%.

Despite these encouraging figures, Neubauer cautioned that they might be misleading due to the low base effect from last year’s significant downturns, especially in the food sector. She remains hopeful that the retail sector will gradually regain its strength, particularly if government actions lead to reduced fuel prices, potentially boosting fuel retail sales further. After recovering in 2021, the challenges of 2023 have been significant, but the sector appears ready for continued growth.

This trend offers hope that Hungarian retail can maintain its growth trajectory and fully recover to the dynamism characteristic of the pre-pandemic period.