Poland reported a 5.3% increase in retail sales at constant prices in December 2025, compared to the same month a year earlier, new data from Statistics Poland has found.
This compares to a 1.9% year-on-year increase in December 2024.
Retail sales saw notable annual growth in categories such as ‘furniture, radio, TV and household appliances’ (+19.8%), ‘motor vehicles, motorcycles, parts’ (+13.1%), ‘pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, orthopaedic equipment’ (+8.4%), and ‘solid, liquid and gaseous fuels’ (+8.3%).
In ‘food, beverages and tobacco products’, however, which accounts for the highest share of retail sales, a 1.9% increase was observed.
On a month-on-month basis, i.e. compared to November 2025, Polish retail sales rose by 12.5%.
January to December
In the period from January to December 2025, meanwhile, sales increased by 4.3% year-on-year, against an increase of 2.7% in the corresponding period of 2024.
If seasonal factors are eliminated, December 2025 retail sales at constant prices were by 4.7% higher than in the corresponding month a year earlier, and up 0.2% compared with November 2025.
‘Strong pace’
Commenting on the data, Michal Rubaszek, senior economist with ING in Poland, said, “The strong pace of retail sales growth, including the structure skewed towards durable goods, confirms recent consumer sentiment surveys pointing to a rising propensity for households to spend. Retail sales growth was broadly in line with our expectations and aligns with our baseline scenario, in which consumer demand remains an important driver of economic growth.”
As ING noted, price developments played a role in the retail sales performance, with prices falling across several categories, including vehicles, fuel, clothing and footwear, and household goods such as furniture and electronics. Food and beverage prices were up 3.3%, however, with prices of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics rising by 1.7%.
“In 2026, we expect household consumption growth to exceed 3%, despite a significant slowdown in real disposable income growth,” Rubaszek added. Read more here and here.
