Retail sales in Albania increased by 3.7% – Highest rate in 2 years

Retail sales accelerated growth in the third quarter of this year. According to the Institute of Statistics, retail sales index rose 3.7% on an annual basis. This is the highest increase in retail sales for the last two years. Unlike the previous quarters, retail sales growth was less determined by the sale of fuels.

Although the sales of hydrocarbons increased again, by 5% compared to the previous year, in the third quarter there was a high increase in other retail trade branches. Excluding hydrocarbons, the retail sales index rose by 3.1%, nearly two and a half times higher than in the second quarter of the year.

Growth in sales came mainly from food and beverages, by nearly 7% more, while the sales index for other products grew by only 0.3%. This proves that the growth in retail sales may have been greatly influenced by the tourism sector.

Retail sales are among the main indirect indicators of the private consumption performance in the economy, so this pound growth calls into question optimism for a higher contribution of this component to economic growth. Consumption is the main pillar of the growth of Albanian economy, with over 80% of the total contribution.

Macroeconomic analyzes show that consumption is in a gradual improvement process, thanks to the improvement of economic growth, the positive developments in the labor market, but also a high growth in consumer credit.

SCAN

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