Economy 6 June 2025, 10:35am

Hungarians take to shopping en masse in April

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Retail sales in Hungary surged in April. This was eagerly awaited, as it was the first full month that the margin cap in grocery stores had been in place. Interestingly, food wasn't the main driver, but rather online retail and consumer durables. Based on the latest data, it is clear that grocery sales are rising, moving further and further away from the 2021 volume level.

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Retail sales in April were up 2% on the previous month, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data. This is the first full month of data since the margin cap on staple foods came into effect (on 17 March). While the overall increase is significant, the breakdown shows that grocery stores experienced a smaller increase of 0.9% on a monthly basis.

However, this could also mean that people spent the money they saved on food in other types of shops.

The 2 percent increase is certainly a welcome change after the weaker data of recent months. This is all the more significant given that the GDP data for the first quarter showed a weakening in household consumption.

The fact that the KSH has retrospectively adjusted the data helps to provide a clearer overall picture, making the upward trend in retail trade more visible on a fixed basis. This is more consistent with the trend of rising household consumption. Previously, it was difficult to understand why retail sales were showing a stagnant, barely rising trend when household spending was expanding.

The April figure suggests that shop sales will continue to drive the economy. Meanwhile, the government has introduced a margin cap on more products, which could stimulate growth. However, as the momentum of real earnings has slowed down this year compared to last year, an improvement in household sentiment is needed to maintain the current pace.

Volume up 5% year-on-year

In April 2025, the volume of retail trade was 6.8% higher than in the same month of the previous year, according to raw data. In calendar- and Easter-adjusted terms, it was 5.0% higher.

The volume of sales increased by 3.7% in both specialised and non-specialised food retail outlets. Sales increased by 4.1% in non-specialised food and beverage shops, which account for 76% of food retailing, and by 1.6% in specialised food, beverage and tobacco stores.
Turnover in non-food retailing increased by 4.0% in volume.
Mail order and internet retailing, which account for 8.4% of all retail sales and involve a wide range of goods, grew by 9.1%.
The volume of petrol station sales went up 2.4%.
Sales in motor vehicle and parts and accessories stores not included in the retail data increased by 1.5%.