According to information released by Statistics Estonia, the turnover of retail trade enterprises in January decreased by 1% YoY at constant prices. The decrease in turnover was affected the most by enterprises engaged in the retail sales of automotive fuel.
In January the turnover of retail trade enterprises totaled EUR 521.2 million. The decrease in turnover was affected the most by enterprises engaged in the retail sales of automotive fuel, where sales decreased by 17% YoY. This drop in turnover was affected to an extent by the continuing increase in automotive fuel prices.
In January the turnover of grocery stores decreased by 2% YoY as well.
The turnover of stores selling manufactured goods increased by 7%. Turnover increased in most economic activities, with the exception of stores selling second-hand goods and in non-store retail sale, such as stalls, markets, and direct sale, where turnover was smaller than in January 2017.
Turnover increased the most in stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials, which saw sales increase by 13%. A higher than average increase in turnover was also recorded in stores selling via mail order or the Internet (12%), in non-specialized stores selling predominantly manufactured goods, i.e. department stores (11%), and in stores selling pharmaceutical goods and cosmetics (11%).
Compared to December 2017, the turnover of retail trade enterprises decreased by one fifth in January. This is typical following the Christmas season and end-of-year sales in December. According to seasonally and working-day adjusted data, turnover decreased by 3% MoM. (ERR/Business World Magazine)