Retail, illustrative stock photo. (source: TASR)
Conversely, revenues dropped in the sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles – by 3.7 percent m-o-m, in wholesale – 2.3 percent, in pubs and restaurants – 1.6 percent, and in retail – 1.1 percent.
July retail revenues were down by 0.6 percent y-o-y, while they were up by 3.4 percent y-o-y in the second quarter of the year, Slovenská sporiteľňa bank analyst Katarína Muchová told the TASR newswire. “The July decline was the strongest since October 2013,” she pointed out.
Revenues from the sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles went up by 6.3 percent year-on-year in July 2016. Over the first seven months of 2016 revenues from the sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles recorded a y-o-y increase of 19.7 percent.
Revenues in wholesale and retail went up by 0.9 and 1.8 percent y-o-y, respectively, between January and July.
Revenues from retail goods in July 2016 fell year-on-year mainly in non-food sectors, while the food segment maintained slight growth, driven mainly by small specialised outlets, UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia analyst Ľubomír Koršňák stated on September 5. Conversely, the sales of large retail chains tended to remain steady on the year, he added.
In contrast to Slovakia, retail revenues have increased on an annual basis in most European countries. Robust increases were recorded mainly by the eurozone’s two largest economies – those of Germany and France.
Slovakia should see an improvement in retail revenues soon, however. “The consumer mood remains above the long-term average even after [the] Brexit [vote], with the Slovak economy continuing to grow, a fact that is having a positive effect on the labour market (with growing employment and salaries),” Koršňák said. “Household consumption should also continue to be supported by low interest rates and a lack of inflation. We expect, therefore, that the surprisingly poor summer figures should only be of a short-term nature, with restored acceleration in revenue growth to be seen after the holidays.”
The improving situation on the labour market and growing consumer trust should ensure a “return to positive increases in retail revenues in the next few months”, Muchová added.
