Real-time retail consumption tracker for August 10 – 16, 2020

Between August 10 and 16 spending in Russia resumed growth, and with unlocked international flights yet another quarantine bastion fell as practically all duty free shops reopened their doors.

Spending on products and services added 0.7% y-o-y; however, a week before that, the metric was 2.6% lower y-o-y, and in early August it stood at minus 1%. The consumer activity index standing at 74.1, slightly below the July figures.

Businesses are reviving. On August 10–16, the number of points of sale grew 0.7% from February 2020. Figures look much better across all of the main categories, compared to a week before that: groceries (+8.0% vs 2019), non-food items (–1.9% vs 2019), and services (–3.3% vs 2019). International flights were becoming available again, and so were duty free shops where spending soared almost 50% over the week but was still 54% less y-o-y.