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Sberbank PJSC, the country’s biggest bank, reported new consumer loans hit a record last month.
Annual performance
January
December
Retail sales
1.6%
2.3%
Real wages
0.2%
2.9%
Unemployment
4.9%
4.8%
Real disposable income
-1.3%
0.1%
Source: Rosstat
The average salary in Russia in 2018 rose 10% to RUB43,400 ($660.24),
but real disposable incomes, or money adjusted for inflation that households have after paying taxes, declined 0.2% in 2018 after falling 1.2% in 2017, according to Rosstat.
4.5.3 Retail sector dynamics
The volume of retail sales grew by 2.6% y/y in 2018. The pace of growth varied during the year, however, slowing to 2.3% y/y in December. After several years of contraction, Rosstat reports that the volume of retail sales increased by roughly 5% in the time period of 2017–2018.
The volume of food sales rose by 1.7% last year. The volume of retail sales increased despite lower household disposable incomes. This may be partly explained by the rise in sales of inexpensive goods as well as a distinct increase in household borrowing. The stock of household borrowing increased by 22% last year. However, most of the increased borrowing came from
45 RUSSIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com
