In July 2015, the volume of retail sales was up by 6.8 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, and thus the positive retail sales trend has been in place for the 25th month in a row. The growth figure of July 2015 is the third best within the EU. Data compiled in the past months clearly show that along with shops families had also adjusted to shopping-free Sundays: sales turnover has been spread over the other days of the week. Higher sales volume, in turn, has boosted hiring in the sector.

In light of both unadjusted and calendar-day adjusted data, in July 2015 the volume of retail sales grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year. Growth has been even, as there were remarkable volume increases at food retailers, filling stations and non-food retailers. The volume of retail sales was up year-on-year by 6.3 percent at specialized and non-specialized food retailers, by 6.8 percent at non-food stores and by 8.3 percent at filling stations.

Sales volume was higher even compared only to the month of June: the volume index adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects shows 0.6 percent growth month-on-month. Within that, the sales volume at specialized and non-specialized food retailers, non-food retailers and filling stations grew by 0.8 percent, 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, compared to the previous month. In the initial seven months of the year, sales volume was up by 6.2 percent year-on-year.

The performance of the Hungarian retail sector was remarkable also from an international perspective, as the Hungarian growth figure was the third highest within the EU. Sales volumes averaged 3.3 percent in the European Union and 2.7 percent in the Euro-zone.

Retail sales data confirm that households have been spending more, consumers have adjusted their shopping habits to the new opening hours and have also become more upbeat about the income outlook. The Ministry for National Economy is expecting that household spending increases significantly in the remainder of the year.

(Ministry for National Economy)