Confidence in the future is increasing from low levels in retail trade and wholesale, while e-commerce is looking somewhat more negative in the next three months. Despite positive momentum for large parts of the retail sector during the spring, it is clear that the challenges of recent years have hit the industry hard. This is shown by the Swedish Trade Federation's Trade Barometer for June.
Photo: Dreamstime
Future expectations are thus rising in two out of three sub-sectors, but the retail sector as a whole continues to be pessimistic about the next three months based on the number of employees, profitability and sales, which has been the case for over two years.
'The trend continues in the right direction for both retail and wholesale trade, which is of course positive. But we should remember that the industry has undergone a steel bath in recent years in the form of, among other things, plummeting sales and poorer profitability. The positive signals also need to be seen in the figures soon,' says Sofia Larsen, CEO of the Swedish Trade Federation.
E-commerce is concerned about competition from third countries
E-commerce expectations for the future are falling slightly after last month's increase. A decrease of 2.0 points means that the indicator value for the month of June lands at 95.8. Many of the Swedish Trade Federation's members testify that there is concern that market shares are being lost to companies from third countries, such as Temu and Shein. The Swedish Trade Federation is working intensively on the issue to ensure that competition takes place on equal terms.
'The fact that online marketplaces from third countries can act on completely different rules than Swedish and European trading companies is a growing problem for both merchants and consumers. In addition, it is highly problematic from a sustainability perspective. The Swedish EU parliamentarians who have now been given a mandate must put the issue high on the agenda,' says Larsen.
Optimism in retail trade rises ahead of summer
The summer months are important for the retail industry and for the grocery trade, holidays such as Midsummer are something that means a much-needed boost in sales. This is noticeable in this month's Trade Barometer, where the sub-industry increases by four points, bringing the future indicator to 92.8.
'The development in the grocery trade and the consumer durables trade differs. While in the former it has clearly turned towards better sales figures, we continue to see how the desert trek in the latter continues. It is clear that, despite positive tones, consumers continue to be reluctant to consume in the consumer durables trade. It's worrying,' says Sofia Larsen.
More information:
Svensk Handel
www.svenskhandel.se