Retail trade volumes rose by 0.1% in both the EU and euro area in August 2026, compared to July, following declines in the previous month, new data from Eurostat has found.
Compared with August 2025, retail sales rose by 1.2% in the EU and by 0.8% in the euro area.
Monthly performance
On a sector-by-sector basis, Eurostat noted that retail food, drinks and tobacco sales increased by 0.1% month-on-month in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU. Non-food products excluding automotive fuel rose by 0.5% in both regions, while automotive fuel sales declined by 1.9% in the euro area and 1.3% in the EU.
Among EU member states with available data, Romania recorded the strongest monthly increase in total retail trade volumes at 2.3%, followed by Sweden (+1.4%) and Germany (+1.3%).
The largest declines were recorded in Luxembourg (-9.4%), Malta (-1.9%) and Latvia (-1.4%), meanwhile
Annual growth
On an annual basis, meanwhile, food, drinks and tobacco retail volumes were 1.6% higher in August 2026 compared to the same month the previous year, while non-food sales increased by 1.7%. Automotive fuel sales fell by 3.7%. In the EU, food, drinks and tobacco rose 1.4%, non-food sales increased 2.2%, and automotive fuel declined 1.9%.
Sweden (+7.7%) recorded the strongest annual growth, Eurostat’s data showed, followed by Cyprus (+7.5%) and Estonia (+6.0%). The biggest declines, meanwhile, were seen in Malta (-2.4%), Spain (-0.6%), Italy (-0.5%) and Germany (-0.4%).
Eurostat also revised its previous estimates for July. The monthly decline remained at 0.6% in the euro area but was revised from 0.4% to 0.5% in the EU. The annual increase was revised from 0.6% to 0.4% in the euro area and from 1.0% to 0.9% in the EU. Read more here.
