Non-Food Categories Drive Russian Retail to Higher Growth Level
Moskou, vrijdag, 6 juni 2025.
The Russian retail sector demonstrates resilient growth in April, with non-food product categories serving as the primary driver. Despite analysts predicting a stronger growth of 3.1%, the sector achieved a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. Notably, online trade and package delivery showed strong performance, growing by 9.1%. The figures suggest a cautious recovery in the Russian retail sector, with non-food segments making a significant contribution to economic dynamics. This growth emerges amid challenging economic conditions and international sanctions, indicating the resilience of Russian retail.
Growth in Non-Food Categories
The Russian retail sector displayed a remarkable growth of 1.9% year-on-year in April, which is higher than the 1.3% in March [1]. Although analysts had predicted an even stronger growth of 3.1%, the figures showed a positive trend in the retail sector [2].
Online Trade and Package Delivery
A notable performance was delivered by online trade and package delivery, which reported a growth of 9.1% year-on-year. This category significantly contributed to the total retail growth, alongside mixed stores of industrial articles that showed 8.3% growth [1].
Economic Context
The growth comes amid challenging economic conditions. In the first four months of 2025, retail growth was 1.4%, compared to 10.9% in the same period of the previous year [3]. It is important to note that the Russian retail sector showed a total growth of 7.2% last year [2].
Employment
Parallel to retail growth, unemployment remained stable at a historically low level of 2.3% in April. The number of unemployed decreased by 21,000 compared to March, totalling 1,709,000 persons [2].