Johanna Linda Pihlak, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that while turnover in February fell by 6 percent compared with the same month last year, the decline accelerated in March.

March's fall in turnover was most affected by stores selling manufactured goods, where turnover fell by 18 percent on year.

"The fall in turnover in these stores was influenced by the higher reference base of March last year, and the continued rise in prices has increasingly started to constrain people's consumption," Pihlak said.

Turnover March 2022 to March 2023 declined by:

• 28 percent in other specialised stores selling predominantly computers and their accessories, books, sports equipment, games, toys, etc.
• 21 percent in stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials,
• 14 percent in stores selling via mail order or the internet
• 9 percent in stores selling second-hand goods and non-store retail sale (stalls, markets, and direct sale),
• 9 percent in grocery stores
• 8 percent in other non-specialized stores selling predominantly manufactured goods (department stores).
• 6 percent in stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear
• 3 percent in pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics
• 3 percent in enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel.

When compared with February 2023, in March, retail trade turnover increased by 17 percent, while according to the seasonally and working-day adjusted data, turnover remained unchanged from a month before.

In the first three months of 2023 (January–March), the turnover of retail trade enterprises decreased by 9 percent when compared to the same period in 2022.

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