Since the beginning of the year, retailers have recorded a real drop in sales. After strong retail sales development in November and December 2022, business development declined in January (nominal: 7.3 percent; real: -3.3 percent) and February (nominal: 6.3 percent; real: -4.0 per cent). to a Wifo study commissioned by the trade association. Especially in the non-food sector, trade was “very weak” at the beginning of the year.
Current sales figures would show that “dealers are not enriching themselves from the inflationary crisis,” Rainer Will, general manager of the Retail Association, said Thursday. The retail trade is thus acting “inflationary dampening”. “In terms of business expectations for the coming months, there has been a positive trend in the retail sector in general in recent months, which is also reflected in the latest research,” says Wifo economist and study author Jürgen Bierbaumer.
13,800 retail job openings
The retail industry continues to be affected by the labor shortage in Austria. According to the Wifo study, more than 13,800 vacancies cannot be filled in time.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
