NGM: consumption expansion has been unbroken for the sixth month, with another significant increase in retail sales in June

In June, in addition to the 3.6 percent increase in non-food retail, the turnover of food and food-type mixed retail increased by 3.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Within the latter, mixed food stores, which account for 75 percent of food retail, showed a 4.1 percent increase. This means that in June, families spent more than HUF 594 billion in grocery stores alone, i.e. about HUF 20 billion more than last June, the announcement reads.

They also point out that, in addition to the expansion of food retail, the 14 percent increase in the volume of mail order and internet retail, which covers a wide range of goods and accounts for 7.9 percent of the retail turnover, is also noteworthy.

It was emphasized that the reduction of inflation, which is still kept at a low level by the effective measures of the government, played an important role in the expansion of retail sales. In June 2024, inflation reached 3.7 percent, in addition, food inflation decreased to 1.1 percent on an annual basis, and in June, food prices decreased by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month. Internal consumption is recovering thanks to the 9-month increase in real wages and the gradual dissolution of the precautionary motive. The restoration of consumer confidence is also shown by the dynamic growth of tourism, which increased by nearly 8 percent in the first half of the year compared to last year’s record year.