What EU country saw the biggest annual increase in retail sales in February 2026?

Luxembourg reported a 11.9% annual increase in retail sales in February 2026, the highest in the European Union, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

Other countries to report a notable annual increase in retail trade volumes for the month included Malta (+11.4%) and Bulgaria (+7.3%), while the largest annual decreases were reported in Romania (-6.8%), Slovenia (-3.5%) and Slovakia (-2.4%). No data was available for Greece or Czechia.

In February, seasonally-adjusted retail trade volumes increased by 1.7% in both the euro area and the EU compared with February 2025.

Food, drink, and tobacco sales grew by 1.0% in the euro area and 0.9% in the EU, while non-food products (excluding automotive fuel) rose 2.3% in both regions. Sales of automotive fuel also saw year-on-year gains of 1.4% in the euro area and 1.6% across the EU.

Month-on-month volumes

Month-on-month data, meanwhile, showed that the retail trade in the European Union and the euro area experienced a slight decline compared with January, while the volume of retail trade fell by 0.2% in the euro area and 0.3% in the EU, Eurostat noted.

This slight monthly contraction reflects a decrease in the sale of food, drinks, and tobacco, which fell by 0.5% in both the euro area and the EU. Non-food products, excluding automotive fuel, remained largely unchanged in the euro area but fell by 0.2% across the EU. Conversely, sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores increased, rising 0.7% in the euro area and 1.0% in the EU.

On a month-on-month basis, the largest increases in retail trade volumes were recorded in Malta (+2.0%), Bulgaria (+1.0%) and in Cyprus and Portugal (both +0.8%), while the largest declines were seen in Lithuania (-2.5%), Poland (-2.4%) and Slovenia (-2.0%). Read more here.

Retail Trade Volume Change by EU Member State – February 2026 (%)

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