Main Department of Trade and Services: in the Vitebsk region, the number of online stores has almost doubled in 5 years
A total of 848 online stores are registered in the region. The rapid development of the e-commerce market, along with the accessibility and mobility of internet communications, was also facilitated by the epidemic situation. In addition, the Vitebsk region consistently holds leading positions among the regions in terms of the share of cashless payments in retail sales volume, demonstrating positive dynamics in this indicator year after year. If in 2010, the share of population payments by bank cards was less than 10%, then today it is already 48.6%, which is the second indicator in the country, noted Irina Levkovich.
Despite the challenging epidemic situation, traditional trade infrastructure continues to develop, taking into account modern trends and customer preferences. For January-May, the increase in retail space amounted to 18 thousand sq.m. As a result, the provision of retail space in the Vitebsk region increased to 789 sq.m per 1 thousand inhabitants (the national average is 610 sq.m). A significant contribution to the increase in this indicator was made by the "Materik" construction hypermarket with an area of almost 10 thousand sq.m, which opened at the end of February in Vitebsk, the second phase of the "TriO" shopping center, as well as enterprises of various forms of ownership, which commissioned 22 stores in the Orsha district, 36 in the Polotsk district, and 23 retail outlets in Novopolotsk.
Today, the trade infrastructure of the Vitebsk region includes about 14 thousand facilities of various formats, including 6.7 thousand stores.
In January-May, prices for essential socially significant goods in the Vitebsk region increased to a lesser extent than in other regions of the country, the senator stated. According to statistical data, the consumer price index was at 104.7%, which is the lowest growth rate among the regions, she added. "As a member of the Council of the Republic, I must note that the issue of price stability in the consumer market is under close scrutiny not only by the relevant government bodies. Representatives of the parliamentary corps and the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus constantly monitor the price situation in all regions of the country," emphasized Irina Levkovich.