Retail trade turnover fell again in January
According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2024, the turnover of retail trade enterprises was 766 million euros. Compared with January 2023, turnover fell by 7% at constant prices.
Johanna Linda Pihlak, analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that while turnover in December fell by 5% compared with the same time last year, the decline accelerated somewhat in January. “The drop in retail trade turnover in January was most affected by stores selling manufactured goods, where turnover declined by 13% year on year,” Pihlak added.
Among stores selling manufactured goods, turnover decreased the most, by 27%, in stores selling via mail order or the internet. Turnover was down by 20% in stores selling household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials, and by 16% in in stores selling second-hand goods and non-store retail sale (stalls, markets and direct sale). Turnover also fell by 9% in stores selling textiles, clothing and footwear, by 9% in other specialised stores selling predominantly computers and their accessories, books, sports equipment, games, toys, etc., by 3% in other non-specialised stores selling predominantly manufactured goods (department stores), and by 1% in pharmacies and stores selling cosmetics.
Compared with January 2023, the turnover of grocery stores decreased by 6%, whereas the turnover of enterprises engaged in the retail sale of automotive fuel increased by 9%.
In comparison with December, the turnover of retail trade enterprises was down by 22% in January. This was the usual decline following the Christmas and New Year sales boom. According to the seasonally and working-day adjusted data, turnover fell by 3% compared with the previous month.
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 in order to determine how the Estonian economy is doing.
See also the internal trade section on our website.
More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
For further information:
Kai Kaljumäe
Communications Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9181
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)