Russian stores have reduced their assortment: in July, food products decreased by 2.3%, and non-food products by 1.8% compared to the same month last year.

The largest declines were recorded in the segments of alcoholic beverages, children’s goods, and personal care products – by 5.6%, 5.1%, and 7.3%, respectively, writes The Moscow Times.

Market participants explain the trend by the reduction of retail space in stores due to expensive rent and changing consumer habits of Russians, which forces them to leave only the most popular items on the shelves .

The Russian chain X5 Group reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine, the assortment in their stores has decreased by an average of 15-20%. In the summer, the company began switching to small store formats: the area of ​​each is about 400 sq. m – three times less than in the chain’s regular supermarkets. The Magnit chain also resorted to similar measures, opening ultra-convenience stores with an area of ​​100 sq. m.

In general, only the most popular products are left on store shelves in Russia, and the vacated space is given over to services and subleases. 

Russians are increasingly saving on everyday necessities due to the rapid rise in prices, which, even according to official Rosstat data, has reached 40% since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine .

Thus, 58% of citizens consciously refuse certain goods that they previously purchased, 57% try to find analogues in lower price categories, and almost half (49%) choose hard discounters for their purchases.

Previously, it was reported that the number of Russians who contacted banks to apply for mortgage holidays increased by 30% in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year .

It was previously reported that in May, Russians’ overdue debt on loans increased by 63.5 billion rubles and for the first time exceeded 1.51 trillion rubles ($19.35 billion) as of June 1. Since the beginning of the year, overdue debt has increased by almost 20% and now accounts for 4.4% of the portfolio.

Author:  Halyna Yalivets Джерело: https://censor.net/n3574470

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