In May 2020 the volume of sales in retail shops decreased by 2.8% according to raw data and by 2.1% when adjusted for calendar effects compared to the same period of the previous year, shows KSH.
The volume of sales, adjusted for calendar effects, rose by 1.8% in specialized and non-specialized food shops, by 0.7% in non-food retail shops and decreased by 13.8% in automotive fuel retailing.
In January–May 2020, the volume of sales – also according to calendar adjusted data – was 1.5% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Declining retail sales in May 2020 were largely driven by the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, with epidemic emergency causing an 8.6 percentage point decrease, turning the estimated 6.5% increase without the epidemic into a 2.1% decline.
The volume index for non-food retail shops was 11% lower, while automotive fuel retailing was 19 percentage points lower than previously estimated. Food store sales were only slightly affected by the impact of coronavirus.
