Retail sales in the Czech Republic have been declining year over year for half a year. The decline accelerated to 9.4 percent in October after a revised 5.3 percent decrease in September.

People spent less, especially on non-food items. Compared to September, October sales were down 1.8 percent. The Czech Statistical Office (CSO) published the information on its website on Tuesday.

“The year-on-year decline in retail sales continued in October, and the decline has been ongoing since May. The pace of decline deepened compared to the previous month, especially for non-food goods, but also for food and fuel,” said Jana Gotvaldová, head of the CSO’s statistics department for trade, transport, and services.

In October, sales of non-food goods fell by 11.2 percent year-on-year, fuel by eight percent, and food by seven percent.

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