Statistics: Retail Revenues Down for First Time in Past Year in February

Bratislava, April 7 (TASR) - Retail sales in Slovakia decreased by 2.6 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) in February, the Statistics Office reported on Monday, adding that this was the first drop to be posted since January 2024. Seasonally adjusted, retail revenues fell by 0.8 percent month-on-month in February. "The developments in retail sales in February confirmed a change in trend, with retail outlets experiencing declines in revenues after a long period of growth. This negative development was seen in eight of the nine components of retail. Only specialised outlets selling clothing and footwear, drugstores and pharmacies were doing well," said the office. The office ascribed the overall decline mainly to a drop in sales of fuel by 9.8 percent y-o-y and a decrease in the revenues of hobby markets and outlets selling furniture and electronics by 9.5 percent. Revenues of non-specialised outlets such as hypermarkets and supermarkets, the most important component in terms of market share, went down only slightly, by 0.4 percent. The most significant fall of over 20 percent was posted by outlets selling sports accessories, books and toys. However, this component had the lowest share of total retail revenues. Meanwhile, higher revenues than a year ago were reported by specialised outlets selling other goods, such as clothing, footwear, drugstores and pharmacies. Their revenues rose by 5.3 percent y-o-y in February, and they have posted growth since October 2023. In the first two months of this year retail revenues decreased by 0.9 percent y-o-y. ko/df