We are finally starting to open our wallets in the shops, which is as necessary for the national economy as a morsel of bread. According to the Central Statistical Office (KSH). In May 2024, the volume of retail trade increased by 3.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, so in the first five months of the year, consumption increased by 2.7 percent overall on an annual basis.
More purchases, more money for the state coffers
Another positive for the Ministry of National Economy is that in May, compared to the previous year, the volume of turnover in food and food-related mixed retail increased by 6.3 percent, within which the sales volume of food-related mixed stores, which account for 75 percent of food retail, was 6.8 increased by percent.
This is also of great importance from the point of view of state revenues,
in May, families spent HUF 789 billion in food and grocery stores alone, i.e. nearly HUF 50 billion more than last year.
Looking at the first five months of the year
the turnover of such shops reached HUF 3,690 billion, which means an increase of almost HUF 200 billion compared to the same period last year.
Hungarian families can spend net 727,000 per month
The expansion was also shown by the Consumer Barometer of the Viewpoint Institute, as it was established that
In June 2024, the average spendable amount of money of a household was HUF 727 thousand net, which is a significant (12.5 percent) increase compared to March 2024.
The rise can be explained simultaneously by rising incomes, the dissolution of the cautionary motive, and the softening of the credit market. All this means that at the level of the national economy – Calculating with 4 million households – we can talk about nearly HUF 3,000 billion spendable resources per month – it is clear from the material.
According to the traditional interpretation of the Barometer, the amount of money available to households to spend is determined by the sum of three sources: household income, household loans and borrowings, and savings used by households.
According to Nézőpont’s analysts, the average monthly income of households increased significantly compared to the previous quarter, from the previous 551.5 thousand to a net 596 thousand forints. Compared to the previous data collection An 8 percent increase in income indicates strong wage dynamics. Calculated with an average number of members of 2.5 people, the average monthly income per person of households is 238.5 thousand forints, compared to 220 thousand forints in March. Based on these, the total monthly income of households at the national economic level is close to HUF 2,400 billion net.
At the same time, only 4 percent of the respondents indicated that they used the option of taking out a loan or borrowing – not for housing purposes – in the last month, so the credit market is still not booming, but maybe it is picking up. In any case, the total amount of loans and credits taken out can be compared to if every household could manage with a net surplus of HUF 49,000 per month, the Barometer reveals.
While in the previous quarter it was even more typical that households preferred to set aside rather than consume, and did not use their savings for consumption, the latest research indicates a turning point. 72 percent of households covered their expenses from their monthly income. A significant shift can be identified when examining the amount used: the amount of savings used was HUF 82,000 per household on average in June, compared to HUF 67,000 in March. According to the analysts, this means that the motive of caution is dissolving and households are reaching for their savings more boldly.
Relatively speaking, we spend less on food
Let’s look at the other side. Households can basically use the resources available to them for consumption, savings or loan repayment. Based on the survey of the Consumer Barometer, in June 2024 half of the households (50 percent) were able to save, which the highest rate in the history of the Consumer Barometer. Credit or loans were repaid by 29 percent of households, which ratio is practically the same as the data of previous quarters.
Based on the source side consisting of income, borrowing and used savings, one
In June, a household was able to manage with an average of HUF 727,000 net spendable money per month. From the amount of money that can be spent, the savings of the given month (on average HUF 84.5 thousand per household) and the monthly amount spent on repaying loans and/or loans (HUF 29 thousand) are deducted
HUF 613.5 thousand remained, which could actually be spent on consumption (food, visits to cultural institutions, restaurant dinners, or anything else). This means – calculated with 2.5 people per household – HUF 245.5 thousand per person, which is an increase of HUF 25 thousand compared to the previous quarter.
The makers of the Barometer mean the amounts spent on food and non-alcoholic drinks, housing maintenance or transport by basic consumption. Based on this, in June 2024, households spent an average of HUF 149.5 thousand on food and non-alcoholic beverages, an average of HUF 71 thousand on home maintenance and household energy, and HUF 37.5 thousand on transportation.
The amount spent on basic consumption is HUF 258,000 per household on average, which is 42 percent of the amount that can be spent on total consumption, which is a decrease of 5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. This means that the amount of money households can spend on consumption has increased over the past months, but their basic consumption expenses have not increased, so practically all surplus resources can be spent on consumption in the classical sense.
– summarizes the analysis of the Viewpoint.
Therefore, HUF 355.5 thousand goes to consumption beyond the basic level, i.e. other consumption,
which represents HUF 1,422 billion at the level of the national economy.
Image: Economx.hu
Interestingly, the data also reveal that Hungarians spent an average of HUF 1,993 per day on food during the 30-day period in June. In the richest fifth, everyone got HUF 74,800 for food purchases, which means HUF 2,493 broken down per day. While the members of the weakest performing group in this respect receive HUF 1,573 worth of food per person per day.
For the price of a cigarette…
Otherwise, KSH summarizes retail sales by product group on an annual basis. This shows that the third largest item is tobacco products, in fact,
In 2023, out of every eighteen forints spent, one cigarette will be spent.
Last year, we spent HUF 18,083 billion in retail, of which
- HUF 5,153 billion went on food,
- and 3,037 billion for fuel,
- and we bought tobacco products for HUF 1,202 billion,
- and alcohol for 548 billion.
By the way, the volume of tobacco trade can only be interpreted together with the entire retail trade of automobiles, the difference is several hundred million forints per year.
The value of motor vehicle retail (2023) is HUF 1,325.8 billion, of which
- new vehicle: 749 billion,
- used vehicle: 169.1 billion,
- new and used motorcycles: 14.2 billion,
- Automotive parts: 393.4 billion.
Image: Economx.hu
The HUF 548 billion 375 million spent on alcohol also provides many lessons. For example, non-alcoholic beverages (522.4 billion), furniture (444.6), books, newspapers (225.1), cleaning products (297.8), and sports, hobby and toy products (318.1) less than this, but we spend more on cosmetics and personal care items (665.1), clothing (850.3) and, perhaps not coincidentally, medicines (783.2) than we do on alcohol.
We are bad
According to data based on self-reports, in 2019, 5.2 percent of the adult Hungarian population were heavy drinkers, every fifth respondent declared themselves to be a moderate drinker, according to the research, almost half of the respondents (46 percent) rarely drink alcohol, and every third Hungarian is abstinent. Every twentieth adult (9.3 percent of men and 1.5 percent of women) joins the group of heavy drinkers – on a social level, this 420 thousand people reported. However, according to toxicologist Gábor Zacher The number of alcoholics can be as high as 900,000 In Hungary.
Image: Economx
In our country, in 2022, most people died from diseases of the circulatory system, followed by cancer in terms of their frequency.
These two groups of causes of death account for 70 percent of all deaths.
Earlier, we also wrote about the fact that the health of Hungarians is in such a bad state that we are the driving force among the 27 member states of the European Union. Hungary ranked 26th among the 27 EU member states in the field of healthy society in 2023 with 39.3 points, the situation is worse only in Romania – warns the competitiveness report of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB).
Source: www.economx.hu
