Outstanding retail sector data over the past 30 months confirm that the propensity of households to spend money has improved and they have become much more upbeat concerning their income prospects, Deputy State Secretary for Domestic Economy Áron Márk Lenner said at a press conference, commenting on the latest retail sales statistics. “In 2016, retail sales growth is expected to continue, and it is going to be significantly influenced by e-commerce,” he added.
The volume of retail sales has been up for the 30th consecutive month. In November 2015, the sector expanded by 4.3 percent year-on-year, while in the period January-November 2015 the sector posted year-on-year growth of 5.7 percent. Data adjusted for calendar effects show that the volume of retail sales gained 1.7 percent at food and non-specialized food retailers, 7.7 percent at non-food retailers and 4.7 percent at filling stations. The Hungarian e-retail sector grew in November 2015 by 26.2 percent, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. This foretells accelerating expansion in the next two-three years.
Monthly retail data also signal that consumers have adapted to shopping-free Sundays. Month-on-month, the volume of retail sales gained 0.1 percent at food and non-specialized food retailers, 0.7 percent at non-retailers and 0.6 percent at filling stations.
Speaking of shopping-free Sundays the Deputy State Secretary said that compared to the same period of the previous year despite the restrictions the number of retail sector employees grew by 2800 in November 2015. In the period April-November 2015, the sector saw headcount growth of 1.5 percent (2700 people). This demonstrates that the Government’s timing for introducing Sunday shopping restrictions was appropriate.
The Deputy State Secretary noted that “recent macro-economic and fiscal processes show that reforms have been working, and low inflation, rising wages and the improving labour market are boosting households’ purchasing power.”
In 2016, retail sector growth is expected to continue, thanks – along with the phasing-out of forex loans – to rising real wages, record-high employment, higher family tax allowances, the lowering or abolishing of certain public service fees and duties, the reduction of VAT on pork meat from 27 percent to 5 percent and the lowering of the personal income tax by 1 percentage point.
(Ministry for National Economy)
