Hungary retail sees record spending in 2018

Retail sales in Hungary are expected to reach a record 11,500 billion forints (EUR 35.8bn) in 2018, the daily Magyar Idők said on Friday.

Thanks to year-end discounts, household consumption has continued to soar after the Christmas break as retailers try to clear out leftover inventory and families prepare for New Year’s Eve, the paper said.

Retail sales this year are up around 1,000 billion forints from last year, a more than 6 percent increase.

In December alone, retail sales came to around 1,200 billion forints, up 10 percent compared with 2017, György Vámos, chief secretary of the National Commerce Association (OKSZ), told the paper.

“It is a reflection of the improvement in the income situation of families that, calculated at current prices, they have spent around 8 percent more on consumer durable and non-durable goods in 2018,” Vámos said.

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Source: MTI