What EU country saw the biggest increase in retail sales in September 2025?

Cyprus reported the largest annual increase in retail trade volumes in the European Union in September 2025, with a 8.5% gain, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

According to the data, other countries to report a notable increase in retail sales for the month included Malta (+6.6%), Bulgaria (5.7%), Portugal (+4.8%) and Spain (4.3%).

At the other end of the scale, several countries reported a decline in retail sales in September, compared to the same month the prevues year, including Italy (-2.3%), Romania (-2.1%), Belgium (-0.8%) and Austria (-0.1%).

No data was available for Czechia and Greece.

Retail trade in the EU

At an EU level, retail trade volumes were 1.3% higher in September 2025 compared to the same month the previous year, while in the euro area specifically, volumes were up 1.0%.

In terms of the main categories that comprise the retail trade, food, drinks and tobacco reported a 0.5% annual increase in trade volumes in September at EU level, while non-food products (except automotive fuel) rose by 1.9%, and automotive fuel in specialised stores was up by 0.5%.

Month-on-month data

On a month-on-month basis, meanwhile, retail trade volumes were stable in the EU and decreased by 0.1% in the euro area.

EU member states to see the biggest increases in retail sales on a month-on-month basis included Luxembourg (+1.7%), Malta (+1.7%), Estonia (+1.5%) and Slovakia (+1.4%), while the biggest declines were reported in Lithuania (-1.1%), Latvia (-0.7%), Slovenia (-0.7%) and Italy (-0.6%), according to Eurostat‘s data. Read more here.

Annual Increase/Decrease in Retail Trade Volumes by EU Member State, September 2025 (%)

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