Retail trade volumes across the European Union fell 0.6% in September 2026 compared with the previous month, while the euro area recorded a decline of 0.7%, according to new estimates from Eurostat.
This compares to a 0.4% month-on-month increase recorded in both the EU and euro area in August, the data showed. Compared with September 2025, retail trade volumes were up by 0.9% in the EU and 0.4% in the euro area.
Monthly decline
At EU level, food, drinks and tobacco volumes decreased by 0.4% in September, compared to the previous month, while non-food retail fell by 1%. Automotive fuel sales increased by 0.1%.
In the euro area, meanwhile, food, drinks and tobacco volumes fell by 0.3%, while non-food products, excluding automotive fuel, declined by 1.2%. Automotive fuel sales in specialised stores increased by 1%.
Germany recorded the largest monthly decline (-2.0%) among the Member States for which data was available, followed by Romania (-1.3%) and Portugal (-0.9%). Luxembourg posted the strongest monthly increase, of 5.3%, followed by Slovakia (+2.2%) and Malta (+1.5%).
Annual increase
On an annual basis, i.e. compared with September 2025, food, drinks and tobacco retail volumes increased by 1% across the EU and 1.1% in the euro area.
Non-food retail rose by 1.2% in the EU and 0.7% in the euro area. Automotive fuel volumes declined by 2.3% and 3%, respectively.
Cyprus recorded the highest annual increase (+7.6%) in total retail trade volumes, at 7.6%, followed by Sweden (+6.9%) and Bulgaria (+5.7%). The largest decreases were observed in Germany (-2.4%), Romania (-2.3%) and Spain (-1.5%).
Announcing the latest series of estimates, Eurostat also revised its August figures. Monthly growth was adjusted upwards from 0.1% to 0.4% in both the euro area and the EU. The annual increase was revised from 0.8% to 1.3% in the euro area and from 1.2% to 1.7% in the EU. Read more here.
