The annual balance sheet and outlook for Austrian trade are mixed. The hoped-for comeback after Corona has not succeeded. Although private household spending rose to 77.2 billion euros in 2023, as the study “Austria’s Trade in Figures” shows, demand in real terms and adjusted for inflation remained below the 2022 level.
“Many Austrians were forced to save on their purchases due to the high prices for electricity, fuel and rent,” said Rainer Will, managing director of the trade association, at the press conference on Tuesday. Savings were made primarily on products for the home and garden (see graphic), furnishings and electrical appliances. In general, there was a clear shift in consumption towards leisure and tourism. “Expenditure on travel, leisure and mobility has increased by more than nine percent,” said study author Andreas Kreutzer. This is also reflected in the five-year comparison: while stationary retail in Austria lost around six percent of household spending, online retail increased by almost 23 percent. In addition to labor market problems and bureaucratic excesses, the Chinese online discounters Shein and Temu are a thorn in the side of the trade association: the number of shipping packages increased by ten million in 2023 alone to more than 110 million deliveries per year. At the same time, the average value of goods fell from around 75 to 62 euros. This means that more and more cheap goods are being bought – mostly from the Far East.
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Image: Stephan Doleschal
Source: Nachrichten
