2024.10.08
Slow improvement for consumer durables trade in July-August
The Swedish retail sector is slowly improving in the wake of slowing inflation and the expected reductions in loan interest rates. The Riksbank's implemented interest rate cuts and indications of further cuts before the end of the year are likely to lead to increased stimulation of consumption. At the same time, the month of September has been burdened by news of layoffs among large companies such as Telia, Ericsson, and Northvolt.
Calendar-adjusted annual development in retail trade in Sweden
The total retail trade in rare goods, which includes white goods and household appliances, is still in a negative position but is close to zero compared to 2023.
Compared to August 2023, retail sales volume increased by 0.5 percent in calendar-adjusted terms in August. Non-durable goods sales decreased by 0.1 percent, while grocery sales excluding Systembolaget increased by 1.4 percent.
How are things going now?
In the wake of the Riksbank's actions with signals of continued reductions in the key interest rate, households' view of the economy is beginning to brighten. This is also reflected in the bankruptcy statistics, which show a favorable development in the retail sector recently. Figures from the business and credit information company UC now show the largest decrease in the number of bankruptcies in a month for retail companies in September. During the month this year, 58 companies in the retail sector went bankrupt. This is 17 percent fewer than in the same month last year. Looking at the whole of 2024, 709 companies in the retail sector have been forced to give up so far. However, this is 9 percent more than last year.
”"The fact that retail is being affected less than other industries can be interpreted as households' view of the economy approaching a normal situation, which the National Institute of Economic Research's barometer also points to," says Gabriella Göransson, CEO of UC, in a press release.
So now it's time to "hold on and persevere" as Tegnell said during the pandemic!
Read the news about the industry results for July-August.
