Analytics, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Markets and Companies, Retail

According to Statistics Estonia, in January 2015 compared to January of the previous year, the retail sales of goods of retail trade enterprises increased 5% at constant prices. In January 2015, the retail sales of goods of retail trade enterprises were 373.9 million euros, which was 285 euros per inhabitant.

The ministry said that in January, the domestic trade continued moderate growth, driven mainly by industrial goods. Due to the price fall, sales volume of food products increased. In the coming months, the current trend is expected to continue and increase of retail sales will be 4-6%, the ministry said.

Real wages have increased steadily for three and a half years now and it has laid a strong base to increase of retail sales volumes. However, the growth of deposits indicates that all the additional revenue does not go directly to the shops, but consumers put emphasis on saving, the ministry said in the commentary.

In recent months, domestic trade has enlivened throughout the European Union. For Estonia, one risk can be Finland, which has behaved clearly weaker than European Union average.

Considering the certain proportion of the Finnish consumers in Estonian retail trade, fall of their purchasing power can in some time start affecting Estonian merchants, the ministry says.

However, the future of the Estonian domestic trade can be viewed with cautious optimism and growth continues in the coming months, said the ministry.