Consumers on the Offensive. This is how one can briefly summarize today’s retail sales result for February, which in year-on-year terms grew by a real 6.1%. However, to convey the full truth, a year ago we were experiencing a consumption downturn (-5%), and February this year had one more working day than the previous year.
This positive February sales result, combined with very high wage dynamics and improving sentiments among Polish men and women, brings a certain breath of optimism for the economy. It also bodes well for companies involved in retail trade and indirectly for manufacturers.
The shopping season for clothing, which was leading the way just two or three months ago, has ended. Soon after this decline, it’s likely that clothing production, which was still on a significant upswing in February on an annual scale (15.8%), will follow suit. Vehicles continue to dominate sales results. In February, we spent over 25% more on them in real terms than a year ago and as much as 10% more than in January. It’s evident that the heightened demand from the end of the previous year is not slowing down in 2024 either. The increased car sales are a result of continuing price rises and concerns over further increases (adjusting cars to standards) as well as an ongoing gap in the supply of new cars. We are selling relatively more used cars.
In the coming months, consumption is expected to recover. This is evidenced by consumer survey results, which show that we have a growing potential to save and are looking much more positively towards the future than just a few months earlier.”
Mariusz Zielonka, Confederation Lewiatan
