Sales Volume in Retail Shops Remain Unchanged

In June 2020, retail stores were already open without epidemiological restrictions throughout the country, so their sales volume increased by 0.8% according to raw data and remained essentially unchanged according to calendar-adjusted data compared to the same period last year.

The Central Statistical Office says the volume of sales, adjusted for calendar effects, decreased by 1.5% in specialized and non-specialized food shops, by 10.9% in automotive fuel retailing and rose by 4.9% in non-food retail shops. In January-June 2020, the volume of sales – also according to calendar adjusted data – was 1.3% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In June 2020, retail sales declined by 6.7 percentage points due to the epidemiological emergency, while without the epidemic, essentially the same level of growth can be estimated. As a result, the turnover remained unchanged compared to the same month of the previous year. The volume index for non-food retail shops was 6.3% lower, while automotive fuel retailing was 12 percentage points lower than previously estimated. Food store sales were only slightly affected by the impact of coronavirus.