Retail trade index

26. Sep 2022
Inflation has not affected sales of groceries and household equipment

Retail sales figures (listed here in nominal values converted to real values) are divided into the following three main commodity groups: ‘groceries and non-alcoholic drinks’, ‘clothing and footwear’ and ‘furnishings and household equipment’.

Retails sales usually drop from Q4 to Q1 the following year, mostly due to Christmas sales in Q4. Sales then tend to pick up again in Q2, and this year is no exception, although sales of clothes and footwear dropped significantly this year compared to previous years.

Price of groceries and beverages up by 6%

Retail sales of food and non-alcoholic drinks went up by 11% from Q1 to Q2 this year. This is a slightly higher Q1-Q2 increase than in the 2017-2021 period, which saw an average Q1-Q2 increase of 8%.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks sales dropped by 1% from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022. Prices in this category increased by 6% over this period.

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Decline in sales of clothes and footwear

Although sales of clothes and footwear went up by 18% from Q1 to Q2 this year, this is a significantly lower Q1-Q2 increase than in the 2017-2021 period, which saw an average Q1-Q2 increase of 27%.

Clothes and footwear sales dropped by 6% from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022. Prices in this category increased by 7% over this period.

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Increasing sales of furnishings and household equipment

Retail sales of furnishings and household equipment increased by 29% from Q1 to Q2 this year. This is a slight increase on the 2017-2021 period, which saw an average increase of 25% from Q2 in one year to Q2 the following year.

Furnishings and household equipment sales increased by 10% from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022. Prices in this category increased by 5% over this period.

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