Johanna Linda Pihlak, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the decline in the volume of retail trade turnover in May was most affected by stores selling manufactured goods, as their turnover volume decreased by 8 percent on year.

"The volume of turnover was down in almost all stores selling manufactured goods, except for pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics where turnover volume remained at last year's level," added Pihlak.

Of the stores selling manufactured goods, the biggest decline was registered in the turnover volume of stores selling household goods and appliances hardware and building materials (down 15 percent). Turnover volume decreased by 12 percent in stores selling via mail order or the internet, by 7 percent in stores selling second-hand goods and non-store retail sale (stalls, markets, and direct sale), and by 4 percent in stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear.

The volume of turnover was down 3 percent in other specialized stores selling predominantly computers and their accessories, books, sports equipment, games, toys, etc., and also by 3 percent in other non-specialized stores selling predominantly manufactured goods (department stores).

When compared to the figures from May 2023, the turnover volumes were down 2 percent in grocery stores but up 1 percent in enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel.

In comparison to this April, the volume of retail trade turnover grew by 7 percent in May. According to the seasonally and working-day adjusted data, turnover volume was down by 1 percent between April and May this year.

In the first five months of 2024, the turnover volume of retail trade enterprises was down 4 percent compared with the same period in 2023.

More information is available here and here.

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