Increased sales during the holiday season, revival of car sales and aggressive promotional campaigns led the Polish retail sales to rise above expectations in December 2008.
Beating the previous forecasts, Polish retail sales increased significantly as the stores received large number of consumers prior the Christmas holidays; however, the figures couldn’t cool the expectations of a huge rate cut in near future, as reported by Forbes.
According to the statistics office, polish retail sales jumped 6.6% in December 2008 on YOY basis. It is higher than the 2.7% growth registered in November 2008 and it also surpassed the forecasted 5.6% growth.
In December 2008, retail sales made a significant growth of 20.2% on month-on-month basis. In the meantime, unemployment rate in the country stood at 9.5%, which also exceeded the forecasted levels. An instant change was observed in the Polish currency (zloty) and bonds, following the release of data.
The driving factor behind the growth in retail sales was the recovery of car sales in the last month of 2008. Also, aggressive campaigning in the final weeks of 2008 led to the increase in sales in several categories such as furniture and household appliances, clothing, food, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Changing consumer behavior and favorable demographics are rejuvenating the Polish retail industry, which is one of the developed economies of Eastern Europe. As a result, the industry is observing a significant change.
Also, rising demand for retail products enabled retailers to offer better supply and services to customers, which, in turn, pushed up the sales in December.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “Holiday shopping propelled the Polish retail sales in December 2008. And since the country’s retail sector is presently at saturation point, retail companies should incorporated consolidation policies in their strategic mix to widen their business operations and move ahead of the present financial conditions. The government should encourage the retailers to offer quality services to customers as the Polish retail sector is under government control”
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