In August 2022, retail trade volume in Croatia inched down 0.2 percent year-on-year, posting the first drop in 18 months, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.

In their comments, economists of the Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) said that this first retail drop on record since February 2021 was “due to strong inflationary pressures and low consumer optimism,” adding that “tourist spending during in peak season helped prevent an even larger fall.”

By type of product, the retail trade turnover of food, beverages and tobacco decreased by 0.6 percent, while the turnover of non-food products decreased by 0.9 percent.

In the first eight months of 2022, the retail trade turnover increased by 2.8 percent in real terms compared to the same period last year.

“High annual growth rates in 2021, the effect of the base period and strong global uncertainty will affect retail trends,” RBA analysts said.

“Although analysts believe that inflation has peaked, they believe that high inflation rates in the months ahead will curb spending because of perceived inflation, which is strongly impacted by food and energy price rises as well as most components of the consumer basket components,” Hina said.

“This year’s good tourist season contributes to consumer spending, due to an increase in disposable incomes, given that 60 percent of tourist accommodation is privately owned,” they added.