Poland: Retail sales record lowest expansion since February in July
Nominal retail sales grew 18.4% year on year in July (June: +19.9% yoy). July’s outturn marked the worst reading since February. The reading was partly due to a deterioration in motor vehicles, motorcycles and parts sales. In contrast, textiles, clothing and footwear sales improved.
Meanwhile, annual average nominal retail sales growth rose to 19.0% in July (June: +18.2%).
Commenting on the release, Leszek Kasek and Piotr Poplawski, economists at ING, stated:
“The weak retail sales data show the scale of the loss of purchasing power of Poles’ incomes and social benefits, whose increases can barely keep up with rising CPI inflation (wages 15.8% YoY, inflation 15.6% YoY in July) and high PPI producer price growth (almost 25% YoY in July). Savings built up during the pandemic are melting away at a rapid pace in real terms, and with the war just over the Eastern border, consumer sentiment is at a record pessimistic level.”