Ukraine retail sales slow to 3% yoy growth in 4M20

Ukraine retail sales advanced 3.2% yoy in real terms
in 4M20, slowing significantly from 10.6% yoy growth in 1Q20, Ukraine’s State
Statistics Service reported on May 21. In April, retail sales plummeted 14.9%
yoy (vs. 6.1% yoy growth in March) and 23.0% m/m in real terms.

Regionally, the highest retail growth in 4M20 occurred
in the Kyiv (10.5% yoy), Zaporizhzhia (9.8% yoy), and Dnipropetrovsk (8.6% yoy)
regions. The major outsiders were Zakarpattia (-11.5% yoy), Chernivtsi (-9.9%
yoy), and Ukraine-controlled Luhansk (-5.2% yoy) regions.

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: A retail
downfall in April was expected as the previous month fully absorbed all the
negatives related to quarantine restrictions in Ukraine, which included the
lockdown of most non-food retail stores. The restrictions on public
transportation also impacted consumer activity.

April’s retail plunge was significant, but not
devastating. It was mostly caused by store doors being shut rather than a
decline in consumers’ disposable income. Like everywhere, the quarantine
measures caused increased demand for food and some household items. In
addition, the consumption pattern of Ukrainians is skewed towards food, so the
lockdown of non-food retail stores has had a lesser effect on retail
indicators.