Retail Trade - May 2004
Sellers not very satisfied in May
Publication Date: 19. 07. 2004
Product Code: r-9101-04
Month-on-month comparison:
In May, compared with April, seasonally adjusted constant price retail sales incl. the automotive segment decreased by 1.5%, of which by 3.5% in the automotive segment and by 0.6% in retail trade excl. the automotive segment. Sale of food was down by 1.3% and sale of non-food goods dropped by 0.1%.
Year-on-year comparison :
Seasonally adjusted constant price retail sales incl. the automotive segment were only 0.1% up. Among assortments that significantly affect the total retail sales index, sale and repair of motor vehicles (-6.8%) and sale in non-specialised stores (-0.8%) decreased most.
Not seasonally adjusted sales rose by 0.5% (there was one working day more than in May 2003). After three months of stable growth (by 2.6% on average), sales slowed down in May, which was affected inter alia by the development in the size group of enterprises with 100 or more employees, where a number of important enterprises recorded lower sales y-o-y. Former duty-free shops reported a steep fall in sales or winding up, resulting from low demand by foreign customers (duty-free sale ended in April and, starting from May, citizens of the EU member states are not eligible for VAT return on goods purchased in the Czech Republic). The continence of customers hit only non-specialised stores in the first month of the CR membership of the EU, but caused no marked changes in customers’ behaviour.
The falling sale in the automotive segment (-1.9%) was caused by lower sale and lower maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (-3.7% and –9.1%, respectively), whereas sale of automotive fuel increased (+4.4%).
Sales in retail trade (excl. the automotive segment) grew by 1.6%: stores classified in the assortment type of food sold by 1.7% less and stores with non-food goods sold by 4.2% more. Sales in the individual assortment types of stores developed as follows:
- sale in non-specialised stores fell by 2.7%, of which in stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating -3.0% (all size groups of enterprises reported decrease) and other retail sale -1.6%;
- specialised stores raised their sale of food, beverages and tobacco and sale of non-food goods (+5.6% both);
- lower prices of goods affected demand predominantly in specialised stores selling electronics, electrical appliances, hardware, furniture and other household goods (sales 13.8% up) and textiles, clothing and footwear (+11.1%). Sales of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles grew by 2.8% and of books, newspapers and stationery and other retail sale in specialised stores by 1.5%;
- consumer demand for sale via stalls and markets and other non-store retail sale grew (sales 3.3% up); on the other hand, demand for second-hand goods and sale via mail order houses dropped (sales 12.1% and 5.2% down, respectively).
International comparison:
According to estimates of Eurostat, seasonally adjusted retail sales excl. the automotive segment in EU25 were down by 0.4% m-o-m; in y-o-y terms, not seasonally adjusted sales increased by 1.6%.
Note
Contact: Alena Hellerová, phone (+420) 274 052 921, e-mail: ahellerova@gw.czso.cz
Data source: CZSO direct survey in enterprises
End of data collection: 7 July 2004
End of data processing: 14 July 2004
Related publication: 9106-04 Monthly Survey in Retail Trade, Hotels and Restaurants ( https://csu.gov.cz )
The data are preliminary; revised data for May 2004 will be released in following two monthly News Releases; final data for each month of the year 2004 will be known in June 2005.