After a decline in January (-1.5%), activity in specialty retail stores ended with a very slight increase in February 2024: +0.8%. Home equipment saw an increase at +3.3% after months of decline. That's mentioned by a report of Procos.
February was a good month for gift-culture-toy stores, showing a rare positive trend over the past year and not observed throughout 2023.
Photo © Mya Be | Dreamstime.com
Web sales of stores were slightly more dynamic than in-store sales at +4.7% compared to February 2023.
After two months of activity in 2024, cumulative store sales compared to the same period in 2023 decreased by -0.5% for the entire specialty retail sector. This cumulative figure was positive for for home equipment at +1.7%.
The summary concludes with Procos expressing gratitude for the minister's announcements and urging action to ensure compliance with standards by international platforms to prevent negative impacts on local commerce. There's also acknowledgment of efforts to prevent the European Commission from reducing payment deadlines, which could have significant negative consequences for commerce.
Source: Procos