Jaanika Tiigiste, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said the fall in turnover, which in April was 15 percent on year, slowed down considerably in May, following the easing of coronavirus restrictions put in place earlier on in the pandemic.

She explained: "The main reason was that since May 11, people were allowed to visit shopping centers again."

Turnover of stores selling manufactured goods decreased by 3 percent compared with May 2019. Turnover decreased the most, by 50 percent, in pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics. In stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear, the fall was 22 percent.

In other non-specialized stores selling predominantly manufactured goods (department stores), turnover declined by 16 percent, and in stores selling second-hand goods and in non-store retail sale (stalls, markets, direct sale), by 15 percent.

Turnover increased compared to May 2019 in stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials, and in other specialised stores, such as stores selling predominantly computers and their accessories, books, sports equipment, games, toys, flowers, plants, etc.

Enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel recorded a 6 percent decline in turnover compared with May 2019, while the turnover of grocery stores increased by 4 percent.

In May, compared with April, the turnover of retail trade enterprises increased by 22 percent. According to the seasonally and working-day adjusted data, the increase was 9 percent.

In the first five months of 2020, the turnover of retail trade enterprises decreased by just 1 percent compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.

--

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!