Retail sales recover slightly, but hotels are still in crisis

Retail revenues rose 1.9 percent in July, primarily thanks to the sale of non-food items. However, car sales continue to fall, according to the Czech Statistics Office (CSU). The biggest growth in sales has been online revenues, just as it has been for many months. In July, online sales grew 20.9 percent, however CSU's Marie Bouskova says the pace of the growth in revenues is slowing. She said that in terms of non-food items, the sale of cultural and sports items had gone up 10 percent in July, compared to the same month in 2019. Sales of computers and IT equipment also rose 10 percent, while home furnishings sales rose 7.3 percent. Specialized food items, however, fell by 6.7 percent, while cars were sold at a pace that was 11.6 percent slower than last year. The Czech hotel sector reported disastrous figures, with a reduction of revenues of 49.4 percent.