Czech Retail Sales Growth Accelerates in July

Retail sales in the Czech Republic grew by 4.8% year-on-year in July 2026, exceeding market expectations for a 4.5% gain and marking the fastest rise since March. The latest reading accelerated from a downwardly revised 3.4% increase in the previous month. Growth was broad-based, led by non-food goods, which rose 6.6%, while food sales increased by 2.7% and automotive fuel sales advanced by 4%. Among non-food categories, clothing and footwear sales climbed 8.8%, while pharmaceutical and medical goods rose 7.8%. Online and mail-order sales recorded the strongest increase, jumping 12.4%, while stores selling household products were the only category to post a decline. Meanwhile, sales of motor vehicles and repairs increased by 0.5% from a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales rose by 0.6% in July, rebounding from a 0.1% decline in June.

Retail sales in the Czech Republic rose by 3.6% year-on-year in June 2026, falling short of market expectations for a 3.9% increase and slowing from a slightly upwardly revised 4.8% gain in the previous month. Sales growth softened for food, beverages and tobacco (2.1% vs 3% in May) and non-food products (5.4% vs 7.6%). Among the non-food sector, revenues declined for information and communication equipment (-1.5% vs -2.9%) and cultural and recreation goods (-1.1% vs 5.5%), while other household equipment (1.2% vs 4.2%) and clothing, footwear and leather goods (3.3% vs 17%) recorded smaller gains. Meanwhile, sales via online and mail (12.6% vs 12%) posted the biggest rise, followed by cosmetic and toilet articles (8.9% vs 9.1%) and in stores selling pharmaceutical and medical goods (7.4% vs 6.6%). Automotive fuel sales also increased modestly (0.3% vs -1.4%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity fell by 0.1% in June, reversing a 1.3% gain in May.

Retail sales in the Czech Republic rose by 4.7% year-on-year in May 2026, exceeding market expectations of a 3.3% gain and accelerating from an downwardly revised 0.8% increase in the previous month. Sales increased for food, beverages and tobacco (2.9% vs -1.2% in April) and non-food products (7.4% vs 4.7%). Among non-food retailers, turnover particularly rose in clothing and footwear (15.7% vs 0.3%), other retail sales in non-specialised stores (7.8% vs 5.2%), other goods in specialised stores (7.3% vs 3.2%), cultural and recreation goods (6.5% vs 0.4%), and mail order and internet sales (11.6% vs 10.6%). In contrast, sales of information and communication equipment declined further (-5.4% vs -1.1%), while automotive fuel sales remained weak despite improving (-0.8% vs -7.8%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity grew by 1.3% in May, rebounding a revised 1.2% decline in the previous month.