Inflation rose in November in line with market expectations, but well above the Czech National Bank's forecast. Price increases were driven by fuel and food, while housing costs fell due to the waiver of VAT payments on energy. Without it, inflation would be 7% yoy. We expect the CNB's repo rate to increase to 3.25% in December and 3.75% in February.

Czech average wage growth slowed from 11.4% yoy in 2Q to 5.7% yoy in 3Q. This was due to the higher base of 3Q20, when the economy had already partly recovered, as well as to the fading effect of the second round of extraordinary bonuses paid in health and social care in 2Q. However, elevated inflation significantly downsized real wage growth, which was only 1.5% yoy in 3Q.

The Czech Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) has recently published an overview of its inspection activities (Czech) for the first half of 2021. Although a significant part of the inspections this year concerned the public administration and the non-profit sector, the DPA’s conclusions from some of these inspections may also be useful for controllers and processors in the private and commercial spheres. In addition, the DPA also carried out a number of inspections regarding the sending of commercial (marketing) communications, where it again drew attention to non-compliance with what are often very basic rules. We have therefore prepared a short summary of the key take-aways from the published inspections.

When we last polled consumers, reflected in our June 2021 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, we found that the pandemic had spurred many respondents to become more digital, more local and more conscious of health and safety.

Fast-forward to September 2021, when we conducted our most recent research for our December 2021 Global Consumer Insights Survey. We surveyed 9,370 people in 26 territories or countries. What’s changed? With 76% of respondents reporting being at least partially vaccinated, consumers are planning to spend more, and they are seeing improvements in their lifestyle as employers allow new ways of working. Of course, some things never change: when it comes to shopping, price and convenience still matter most, even as other factors, such as sustainability, are increasingly on consumers’ minds.