MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. On March 30 - April 5, spending on goods and services in Russia fell by 22.9% compared with the previous week, however increased demand is for food, medicine and alcohol persists, according to a report from Sberbank.
"From March 30 to April 5, household spending on goods and services decreased by 22.9% compared with the previous week. Almost the same change was observed relative to the comparable week of the previous year (-23.3% y-o-y). Increased demand remains only in essential categories: food and medical supplies. In addition, for the second consecutive week, there has been a surge in spending in the Wine Stores category (+31% y-o-y), without a typical intra-week seasonality," the report said.
Spending in the "digital goods" segment also increased in the reporting period, which, most likely, is associated with the beginning of the period of self-isolation. At the same time, from March 30 to April 5, non-cash expenses decreased by 58.8% in the service sector.
"At the beginning of the month categories ‘sports’, ‘beauty salons’, ‘entertainment’ joined them. The same situation was seen in other large product categories - ‘clothes and shoes’ (-94.2% y-o-y), ‘furniture and interior decorations’ (-81.0%). Purchases of household appliances and electronics stopped. In the reporting week, spending in this category fell by 58.2% year-on-year," Sberbank noted.
According to Sberbank, in case current levels of consumption continue until the end of the month, Russia’s GDP might lose about 900-950 bln rubles ($11.94-12.6 bln) or 0.9% of the annual volume, and possibly more.