March retail sales might show turnaround in Hungary

Retail sales increased by 2% in March compared to February, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data. This was partly due to the fact that Easter - a movable feast - fell in March this year. Although this effect is somewhat dampened by the adjustment made by the Central Statistical Office (KSH), it certainly had an impact on turnover.

The volume of retail trade in March already exceeded the 2021 average by 0.5%. In addition, the KSH has now revised its fixed base data series retroactively and calculated a smaller decline in recent months compared to earlier.

The volume of retail sales increased by 4.2% year on year, according to seasonally-adjusted data.

The volume of sales grew by 5.7% in specialized and non-specialized food retailing. The volume of sales increased by 5.7% in non-specialized food and beverages shops accounting for 77% of food retailing and by 4.8% in specialized food, beverage and tobacco stores.

The turnover of non-food retailing increased by a total of 0.6% in volume. The volume of mail order and internet retailing accounting for 7.4% of all retail sales and involving a wide range of goods rose by 4.2%.

The volume of sales in automotive fuel stations increased by 3.3%.

The past few months have not been kind to the retail sector, with a surge in December and stagnation in January, but the sector is not out of the doldrums. And yet there was every chance of recovery, as the minimum wage and the guaranteed wage minimum had already been raised in December, meaning that those affected received this amount in January. In February, teachers also received their increased salaries. It seems, the effect of these started to be felt in March.

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