The increase was primarily driven by a 7.5% rise in specialized and non-specialized food shops.
Sales in non-food retailing also showed positive growth, increasing by 2.9%. However, automotive fuel retailing experienced a 1.2% decline in sales volume compared to August 2023.
Within food retailing, non-specialized food and beverage shops, which account for 76% of the sector, saw an 8.9% rise in sales. Specialized food, beverage, and tobacco stores experienced a more modest 3.4% growth.
Non-food retail saw mixed results. Pharmaceutical, medical goods, and cosmetics shops led the category with a 7.4% increase, while furniture and electrical goods stores recorded a 4.9% rise. In contrast, sales in textiles, clothing, and footwear shops declined by 2.2%, while second-hand goods stores saw a significant 6.9% drop.
The volume of mail order and internet retailing, which makes up 7.0% of Hungary’s total retail sales, grew by 6.1% in August.
Month-on-month, retail sales were up by 0.8%.
For the first eight months of 2024, retail sales volume rose by 2.8% compared to the same period last year. Specialized and non-specialized food retailing increased by 4.1%, non-food retailing by 1.9%, and automotive fuel retailing by 1.3%.
Hungary’s domestic retail sales in August amounted to HUF 1.668 trillion at current prices.
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