Retail sales in Slovakia continued their year-on-year decline at the close of the year. According to data from the Slovak Statistics Office (ŠÚ), in November they decreased by 2.2 percent to €1.53 billion, while in October they fell by 1.8 percent and in September by 1.7 percent. The last time retail sales achieved annual growth was in May last year.
For eleven months in 2012, retail sales reached €16.195 billion; down 0.7 percent from the same period last year. Development of retail sales in annual terms was influenced by lower retail sales outside stores, stalls or markets and by retail sales of other goods in specialised stores by the same 3 percent. Retail sales of other household equipment in specialised stores dwindled by 2.9 percent while only retail trade in non-specialised stores showed an increase by 1.6 percent year-on-year.
Retail sales in Slovakia have been declining for three consecutive years. The sector suffered the impact of the global economic crisis as well as a decline in shopping tourism, resulting in 2009 in a year-on-year drop in retail sales by over 10 percent. Retail sales fell again in the following two years, in 2011 by 2.8 percent. Continued weak consumer demand, however, does not indicate any possibilities for retail sales growth to resume.
(Source: SITA)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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