Croats Spent More at the Beginning of the Year Despite Boycotts

The beginning of this year will certainly be remembered for a series of boycotts of stores and numerous retail chains, initiated by the consumer association ‘Hello, Inspector’, which seems to have jolted Croats out of their winter slumber, as they decided to unite around an economic issue and show their dissatisfaction with the significant price increases in recent years (especially since they did not do so during the parliamentary elections last year) at least during the first and so far most successful boycott on January 17. However, how much Croatian consumers really avoided shopping and monitored their spending during this cold and gloomy period is best illustrated by the data on fiscalized receipts in the first 40 days of this year across all activities.

In the period from January 1 to January 31, 2025, the number of receipts increased by approximately 4 million (an increase of 2.34 percent) compared to the same month in 2024, and the total amount of receipts rose by 258 million euros, or 10.03 percent, according to data from the Tax Administration. Specifically, a total of 176,535,284 receipts were fiscalized, amounting to 2,833,048,596.28 euros. In the same period last year, 172,504,400 receipts were issued, totaling 2,574,568,998.96 euros. Thus, citizens spent more in every respect.

Considering that prices in January compared to last January increased by 4 percent, according to the latest data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the growth in overall consumption (10.03 percent) significantly outpaced the inflation rate. This means that the increase in the amount of fiscalized receipts cannot be explained solely by rising prices but also by changes in consumer habits. Citizens may have opted for more expensive products and services, and it should also be noted that January is a month of numerous winter sales. Additionally, bonuses and other non-taxable allowances are generally paid out at the end of one year or the beginning of the next, which may have also encouraged people to spend more.

Slowdown in February

However, for the first ten days of February this year, the data shows a somewhat different trend. From February 1 to February 10, 2025, the number of fiscalized receipts decreased by 7.38 percent compared to the same period last year. However, the total amount of receipts remained almost the same, with a slight decrease of 0.07 percent. A total of 58,023,913 receipts were issued, amounting to 926,172,809.24 euros, while in the same period in 2024, 62,644,202 receipts were fiscalized, totaling 926,793,873.04 euros. This means that customers made fewer transactions, or visited stores less frequently, but individual purchases were only slightly lower in amount.

During this period, the general boycott occurred only on Friday, February 7, but from January 31 to February 7, there was a boycott of the retail chains Lidl, Eurospin, and dm, as well as Coca-Cola, soft drinks, bottled water, and dish detergents. The week after saw a boycott of Konzum, and in the meantime, the general boycott on Fridays expanded to bakeries, gas stations, restaurants, cafes, online stores – almost everything.

In any case, consumers spent more in January this year than in January last year, despite the boycotts. This data can be partially attributed to the fact that the first boycott of stores only began in mid-January, specifically on January 17, and continued on January 24 and 31. A slight decrease in the number of transactions only occurred in February; however, this does not necessarily indicate a drop in average spending per purchase.

Boycotting Continues

How these ongoing boycotts, which continued into February, will affect consumption and retailers remains to be seen at the end of the month with the final figures on fiscalized receipts and amounts. Additionally, at the beginning of March, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics will publish the retail trade results for January.

By Friday, February 28, a weekly boycott of the retail chain Studenac is ongoing in Croatia, and on that day, the association ‘Hello, Inspector’ is again calling on consumers to boycott all stores, following the example of the American ‘Economic Blackout Day’ on the same day, when the largest retail brands such as Walmart and Amazon are boycotted. According to the association’s announcements, there will be more boycotts, but it remains to be seen in which direction consumer spending and retailer revenues will move.