Luxembourg saw the biggest increase in retail sales by volume in May 2024, reporting a 10.4% increase, new data from Eurostat has found.
Other countries to post a notably high increase in retail sales by volume include Croatia (+8.4%), Romania (+6.5%), Slovakia (+5.3%) and Lithuania (+5.1%).
A number of countries also saw retail sales decrease, with Belgium (-5.2%), Estonia (-4.0%) and Slovenia (-1.1%) posting the largest declines.
No data was available for Germany or Greece.
Across the European Union
Seasonally adjusted retail trade volumes increased by 0.6% in the European Union in May 2024, compared to the same period the previous year, while volumes were up 0.3% in the euro area.
In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.7% for food, drinks, and tobacco, increased by 0.9% for non-food products (except automotive fuel), and decreased by 0.8% for automotive fuel in specialised stores in May 2024, the Eurostat data showed.
Within the euro area, meanwhile, the volume of retail trade increased by 0.3% for food, drinks, and tobacco, increased by 0.7% for non-food products (except automotive fuel), and decreased by 0.6% for automotive fuel in specialized stores.
On a month-on-month basis, i.e comparing May 2024 with April 2024, retail trade volumes increased by 0.1% in both the euro area and the EU.
Retail trade volumes by EU country, May 2024
| Rank | Country | Retail Trade Volume Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxembourg | 10.4 |
| 2 | Croatia | 8.4 |
| 3 | Romania | 6.5p |
| 4 | Slovakia | 5.3p |
| 5 | Lithuania | 5.1p |
| 6 | Czechia | 4.5 |
| 7 | Cyprus | 3.8 |
| 8 | Hungary | 3.7p |
| 9 | Portugal | 2.7 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 2.3p |
| 11 | Bulgaria | 1.6p |
| 12 | Sweden | 1.5p |
| 13 | France | 1.4p |
| 14 | Latvia | 1.0 |
| 15 | Austria | 0.7p |
| 16 | Spain | 0.0p |
| 17 | Malta | -0.2p |
| 18 | Denmark | -0.3 |
| 19 | Ireland | -0.7p |
| 20 | Italy | -0.8 |
| 21 | Poland | -0.8p |
| 22 | Finland | -0.8 |
| 23 | Slovenia | -1.1p |
| 24 | Estonia | -4.0 |
| 25 | Belgium | -5.2p |
| 26 | Germany | : |
| 27 | Greece | :c |
Special values:
- c: confidential
- p: provisional
- :: not available
