According to data from the Tax Administration of the Republic of Croatia, the number of receipts issued in retail trade from midnight on Thursday to 11 a.m. on Friday is 40 percent lower compared to last Friday, while the total amount of issued receipts is 47 percent lower.
This is the result of a one-day store boycott organized through social media in protest against high prices.
Seven days ago, during the same time period, Croatians spent 14.3 million euros, while yesterday that amount was almost 50 percent lower.
The store boycott was initiated by the Facebook group “Halo, inspektore” (Hello, inspector), backed by the European Center for Consumer Excellence (ECIP), and in the meantime, it has been supported by consumer protection societies, unions, political parties, and even the Minister of Economy himself.
In Croatia, consumer prices in December last year rose by 4.5 percent compared to the same month in 2023, marking their strongest growth since May.
Croatia is thus among the three European Union (EU) countries with the highest inflation, behind Romania (5.5 percent) and Hungary (4.8 percent). The annual EU inflation rate in December last year was 2.7 percent, while in the eurozone it was 2.4 percent, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Despite this, retail sales in Croatia are increasing.
According to the latest official data, from November last year, retail sales in Croatia have been growing for 20 consecutive months on an annual basis.
