In April, turnover fell the most in textile, clothing and footwear stores

According to Jaanika Tiigiste, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, the turnover of stores selling manufactured goods fell by 24% year on year. “The main reason for the turnover decline in April was the fact that shopping centres were closed for the whole month because of the emergency situation,” explained Tiigiste.

Turnover decreased the most, by 72%, in stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear. Other specialised stores selling predominantly manufactured goods (department stores) but also pharmacies and cosmetics stores lost half of their turnover compared to the same period a year ago. In stores selling second-hand goods and in non-store retail sale (stalls, markets, direct sale), the decrease was 32%. In other specialised stores, such as stores selling predominantly computers and their accessories, books, sports equipment, games, toys, flowers, plants, etc., turnover declined by 18%, and in stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials, by 11%.

Enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel recorded a 25% decline in turnover, while the turnover of grocery stores remained at the same level as in April of the previous year.

In April, compared to March, the turnover of retail trade enterprises decreased by 18%. According to the seasonally and working-day adjusted data, the decrease was 13%.

In the first four months of 2020, the turnover of retail trade enterprises decreased by 1% compared to the same period of the previous year.

The statistics are based on the VAT declaration data of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Statistics Estonia performs the statistical activity “Financial statistics of trade enterprises (monthly)” for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications with the aim to determine the economic situation in Estonia.