
According to INSTAT data, retail trade is showing an increase in the third quarter of this year due to the increase in consumption as a result of the summer season and positive tourism figures. The sales volume index in retail trade, calculated based on the deflation of the value sales index, reached 145.1, marking an increase of 5.6%, compared to the third quarter of 2022. In quarterly terms, the increase in the volume of retail sales is recorded to 1.5%, compared to the second quarter of the year.
But, on the other hand, the monthly change of the sales index in retail trade is negative. The volume of sales from August 2023 to September of the same year has decreased by -2.4%.
In retail trade, excluding hydrocarbon retail trade, the sales volume in the third quarter of 2023 has increased by 4.6%, compared to the third quarter of 2022. In the group "Food, beverages, tobacco in non-specialized trade units and specialized", the sales volume has increased by 4.6%, compared to the same quarter of 2022. The sales volume, for the group "Non-food items in specialized and non-specialized commercial units", has increased by 4.5%, compared to the same period of the previous year. In the group "Hydrocarbon trade in specialized commercial units", the sales volume has increased by 6.5%, compared to the same quarter of 2022.
In the annual change of 5.6%, in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the third quarter of 2022, the group "Retail trade of hydrocarbons in specialized commercial units" contributed 2.2 percentage points. "Non-food items in specialized and non-specialized commercial units" with 1.8 percentage points and the group "Food, beverages and tobacco in non-specialized and specialized commercial units" with 1.6 percentage points.
As for the quarterly change in sales volume, in the third quarter of 2023, the seasonally adjusted sales volume in the group "Retail trade, excluding retail trade of hydrocarbons in specialized trade units", has increased by 1.9%, compared to the previous quarter. In the group "Food, beverages, tobacco in non-specialized and specialized commercial units", the sales volume, seasonally adjusted, has increased by 1.9% compared to the previous quarter.
The volume of sales, seasonally adjusted, in retail trade, for the group "Non-food items in specialized and non-specialized trade units", increased by 0.6%, compared to the previous quarter. In the group "Hydrocarbon retail trade in specialized commercial units", the sales volume, seasonally adjusted, has increased by 1.2%, compared to the second quarter of 2023.