What EU country saw the biggest increase in retail trade volumes in August 2025?

Cyprus recorded the biggest annual increase in retail trade volumes in the EU in August 2025, reporting a 9.4% year-on-year increase, new estimates from Eurostat have revealed.

According to the data, other countries to report an above-average annual increase in retail trade volumes for the month included Malta (+9.2%), Luxembourg (+7.3%), Lithuania (+6.4%) and Bulgaria (+4.9%).

At the other end of the scale, several EU countries reported a decline in retail trade volumes for the month, including Romania (-3.8%), France (-1.4%) and Finland (-1.2%). No data was available for Czechia and Greece.

Retail sales index

The retail sales index increased by 1.1% in the EU in August 2025, compared to the same period a year earlier, and by 1.0% in the euro area, according to Eurostat estimates.

In the EU, the volume of retail trade was up 0.1% for food, drinks and tobacco, but rose by 2.3% for non-food products (except automotive fuel), and by 1.6% for automotive fuel in specialised stores.

Month-on-month data

On a month-on-month basis, i.e. compared to July 2025, retail trade volumes fell by 0.3% in the EU and by 0.4% in the euro area.

The biggest monthly increases in retail trade volume in the EU were seen in Lithuania (+1.7%), Cyprus and Malta (both +1.5%) as well as in Sweden (+1.1%), while the largest decreases were recorded in Romania (-4.0%), Poland (-0.8%), Luxembourg and Portugal (both -0.7%), Eurostat‘s data showed. Read more here.

Annual Change in Retail Trade Volumes by EU Member State, August 2025 (%)

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