Positive development

Retail trade slowly picks up speed after slump

Our federal state was hit particularly hard by the economic disaster of 2023. The retail sector recorded a decline in almost all sectors. Businesses are regaining some confidence.

The extremely high inflation in 2023 not only hit consumers hard. Carinthian retailers also suffered from the price increases. "The entire past year was characterized by a difficult situation," says Peter Voithofer from the Institute for the Austrian Economy.

The figures also prove this. The Carinthian retail sector suffered a 1.9 percent drop in sales. "The real decline was even minus 4.9 percent, which is significantly higher than the Austrian average of minus 3.4 percent," says Voithofer.

Car trade as the only big winner

And while retailers and the like suffered from inflation and dwindling purchasing power, the motor vehicle industry was able to achieve a respectable 13.5 percent increase in turnover. "This is due to the fact that the supply chain problems of 2022 have been eliminated."

There are initial signs that make us cautiously optimistic about 2024. We seem to have bottomed out.

Raimund Haberl, Obmann der Sparte Handel in der Wirtschaftskammer Kärnten

And this upswing should now be transferred to the entire retail sector. "There are initial signs that allow us to be cautiously optimistic about 2024," says Raimund Haberl, Chairman of the Trade Division of the Carinthian Chamber of Commerce. This is because domestic retailers already felt inflation leveling off in January and February. "Energy prices are also slowly falling," adds the industry representative.

Merchants are now hoping for strong Easter business. After all, a total of around 16 million euros is expected to be flushed into the retailers' coffers in the coming days.