These sellers benefited from the winter. The data speaks for itself
Clothing and footwear are the stars, with an increase of 17.6%. – winter surprises not only road workers! – this is how experts comment on the latest data on retail sales in Poland.
On Monday, the Central Statistical Office (GUS) announced that retail sales at constant prices in January this year were higher by 4.4 percent year to year, compared to an increase of 4.9%. in early 2025. These data turned out to be higher than economists predicted (market consensus was 3.1%). On the other hand, there was a significant increase, as much as 17.8%. decline month-on-month.
Retail sales up. Experts comment
In the experts’ comments quoted by “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna”, attention was drawn to the increase in retail sales in the “textiles, clothing, footwear” group. It amounted to 17.6 percent, which means that in January Poles bought almost one fifth more things from this area than at the beginning of 2025.
– Clothing and footwear are the stars, with an increase of 17.6%. – winter surprises not only road workers! “Consumption remains the engine of economic growth, although Q1 2026 will be weaker in this respect than Q4 2025.” – say economists from ING Bank Śląski.
In their opinion, the GDP growth rate will be lower than 4%, which is the result of weaker results of industry and construction. In January, both of these segments of the economy had sales that were actually lower than a year earlier.
Analysts also point out that last month saw weakening sales of durable goods. There is no slowdown in household appliances/electronics and furniture stores, but it affected automotive showrooms.
– Here we saw a sales decline of 4.5%, the first in 2.5 years – emphasize Bank Pekao economists.
The bank’s experts indicate that if it were not for weaker car sales, the overall retail sales result could have been approx. 2 percentage points lower. higher.
– The reason for the surprise is probably the reduction in the limits for deducting internal combustion cars as tax deductible costs from January 1 – economists believe.
Food sales were up 4.2% in January. higher than a year earlier. Compared to December, sales were 1.9% higher, which, according to experts, may indicate that real household income allows for a slightly richer basic basket.
