The statistics are brightening – a turnaround is underway?

New statistics from APPLiA show that a turnaround may be underway in the industry. The same applies to retail in general. Retail turnover measured in current prices increased by 6.2 percent compared to last year and non-durable goods trade by 1.6 percent.

The industry statistics for May are characterized by a certain degree of recovery. For major white goods (MDA), the value outcome for May this year is only a few percentage points below last year's result for May. For electrical household appliances (SDA), the monthly outcome is significantly higher (+5.7%) compared to May 2022. Accumulated over the first five months of the year, the industry's figures are starting to approach the previous year for major white goods and household appliances are also catching up.

Is this a sign of a turnaround?

The industry value has shown stabilization and a slow improvement in recent months – a tendency towards a turnaround can be discerned. But we must remember that APPLiA's industry report here in APPLiAnytt is based on the value outcome. The price changes that have occurred in society and for the industry's supply provide compensation for the loss of volume, which the industry is still feeling for both MDA and SDA.

Overall MDA+SDA

For both major segments of the industry, the outcome in May has led to an improvement in the overall industry figures – thanks to the positive value for SDA, May 2023 is almost on par with May 2022 and cumulatively the overall outcome decreases by -5.6 percent. In April, the corresponding value was -6.8 percent. This tendency towards cautious improvement also follows the development in the retail trade for durable goods in Sweden.

Retail in Sweden – Calendar-adjusted annual development

Compared to the overall development of retail trade for, among other things, durable goods, Statistics Sweden writes in its press release that compared to the corresponding month in 2022, retail sales volume in May decreased by 5.4 percent in calendar-adjusted figures. The retail trade in durable goods decreased by 7.7 percent and the grocery trade excluding Systembolaget decreased by 2.3 percent. See graph above.

However, if the development in retail trade is measured in current prices, the development looks significantly better. Retail turnover measured in current prices increased by 6.2 percent in May 2023 compared to May 2022. Retail trade in rare goods increased by 1.6 percent and grocery trade excluding Systembolaget increased by 13.0 percent, all according to Statistics Sweden's latest publication.

Text: Kent Oderud

Market development