Norwegians will spend about NOK 44.4 billion in July and August, according to figures from the trade and service industry’s main organization Virke.
We see once again a strong summer trade in food and drink. After the Christmas shopping, it is the months of May to August that are most important for the sale of food and drink, says Director Ingvill Størksen in Virke Dagligvare.
36.7 billion will be used in grocery stores.
The summer trade is important for many local communities around the country, where, for example, the local grocery stores makes a large part of the turnover during the summer months. In some municipalities, the stores double their sales, says Størksen.
Many Norwegians also use the summer leave to take a trip across the border to Sweden to shop for food and beverages. This summer, it is estimated that Norwegians will spend more than NOK 2.75 billion on day trips abroad.
Sweden is Norway’s fourth largest grocery retailer and sells more than the Bunnpris chain, which has 250 stores in Norway. This tells us that the border trade affects Norwegian jobs and the control of public health policy. The high Norwegian tax levels sends Norwegians straight into Swedish stores, says Størksen.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
