Page 54 - RusRPTJul21

4.5.3 Retail sector dynamics
Russian retail sales increased by 27.2% on the year and by 1.1% in May,
the Federal State Statistics Service said at the end fo June without providing absolute figures. In January–May, retail sales went up 10% on the year.
Consumption-driven sectors in particular have quickly closed the corona pit this year and continued to grow in April. Retail trade was already clearly higher than before the crisis. Other service sectors have also recovered briskly, but their production was still 6% lower in April than in 2019. The production of services contracted the most sharply last spring, as interest rate restrictions hit many service sectors in particular.
The recovery in consumption has been supported by rising wages and higher employment in the early part of the year. In January-March, the average real wage of Russians increased by almost 2% year-on-year.
54 RUSSIA Country Report July 2021 www.intellinews.com