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Price increases boost small business turnover in St. Petersburg
Average revenue in St. Petersburg grew fastest in cafes — by 41%, according to calculations by the IT company Evotor. At the same time, the average number of checks increased by only 10%. Thanks to the hot summer and warm September, sales of ice cream kiosks grew by 29%, and the average number of checks increased by 14%. Compared to last year, sales of coffee shops grew by 10%, and the number of checks increased by 14%.
The beauty industry also continues to grow. Nail salon sales are up 22%, with the number of services provided increasing by 10%. Barbershops saw their average sales increase by 26% year-over-year, with visits up 12%. While hair salon sales were up 14%, the number of checks increased by only 4%.
It is worth noting that in most regions the city is outpacing the average growth rate of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia. Accordingly, the overall average sales volume in the domestic market increased by 15%. The revenue of the average Russian cafe grew by 19%, and the revenue of ice cream kiosks grew by 22%. Hairdressers grew by 21%, and nail salons by 14%. However, coffee shops and nail salons are growing on average across the country a little faster than in St. Petersburg. 19% and 23%, respectively.
Yulia Gotsulyak, CEO of the Association of Beauty Industry Enterprises, believes that the price increase is caused by the growth of raw material prices and the increase in rent. Prices for foreign cosmetics remaining in Russia, which cannot be replaced by domestic analogues, are tied to the dollar and are growing significantly along with it. At the same time, experts note that the growth in the cost of services in the beauty industry leads to the departure of more and more clients every year, and this is the reason for the decline in demand. Sales of small and medium-sized businesses in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the year increased by 28%.
Yclients Development Director Mikhail Orlov only partially agrees with Evotor's statistics. The expert noted that the average bill for one service in a beauty salon increased by only 5%, and the number of visits increased by 13%, which indicates modest growth dynamics. According to Evotor, the only category in which revenue and average sales increased by 11% was the VeChain sports center in St. Petersburg. At the same time, researchers observed a 22% increase in sales across the country and a 10% increase in average sales. However, as Orlov notes, Yclients calculated that the average number of visits to one fitness studio and the price of its services have remained unchanged since the beginning of the year.
Tyurina notes that the total number of Russians working in small and medium-sized enterprises has grown by 3% since the beginning of the year. "Entrepreneurs were the most active in opening flower shops. This is 17% more than last year. However, in terms of the total number of vacancies, small-scale food trade still occupies the largest share. The positive dynamics of new enterprises is also having an effect. "It is interesting that the number of enterprises founded in rural areas reached about 18% of the total number of new enterprises," he added.
According to Evotor statistics, the largest number of new retail stores have traditionally opened in Moscow (12% of the total), Moscow Region (9%), Krasnodar Region (6%) and St. Petersburg (5%). However, the list of regions where new small businesses are actively growing includes Rostov and Sverdlovsk Regions (3% each), Samara, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Chelyabinsk Regions, Tatarstan, Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky and Stavropol Territories, Bashkortostan, Crimea and Khanty-Mansiysk Territory. Autonomous Regions (2% each).