European stores sold slightly more in January than a month earlier. Food, drink and tobacco were more popular with consumers, while less fuel was sold for vehicles. This is reported by the European statistics agency Eurostat.

The number of products sold by European retailers increased by 0.3 percent. According to Eurostat, this applies to both the European Union and the eurozone, the countries that pay with the euro. However, there was still a decline of 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent in December, respectively.

The most substantial increase was seen in the Netherlands, where sales increased by 4.9 percent compared to December. Our country is followed by Luxembourg (plus 4.6 percent) and Slovenia (plus 4.1 percent). On the other hand, the number of products sold fell most sharply in Austria, by 9.8 percent.

ING economists indicate that a revival after December was expected but that the increase of 0.3 percent every month is “weak”. As a result, further growth during the first quarter will be “a challenge”.

However, the inflation peak seems to be behind us, which is positive for consumers, according to ING. But with purchasing power still under pressure, “it doesn’t seem like there’s much momentum in a rapid revival in 2023.”