The Czech Commerce Association (SOCR) has reported that in April, the Czech Republic posted its strongest month of sales growth since last November.
It alleges that the cause is down to improved confidence among Czech households, meaning that people are more inclined to spend money.
In March, retail sales rose by 7.8% (excluding vehicle sales) for the month, and 4.8% for the quarter.
The SOCR also claims that the Easter break had a huge effect on food sales, and that the extended holiday period led to more food purchases. Back in February, food sales were down year on year, while in March, they fell by 0.4%.
Lending Trends
The data also finds that homeowner lending rose by 9.4% – the highest year-on-year increase in the last seven years. Mortgage lending rose by 10%. The last recorded percentage this high was in August 2010 (10.3%).
It is not only the housing situation that has improved. Car sales and repairs grew by 14.3% in March, according to data presented by the Czech Statistics Office (CZSO), compared to 12.2% in the same period the previous year.
Car ownership has increased by 27.6%, compared to this time last year.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
