Estonia Retail Sales Growth Eases in February

Retail sales in Estonia increased by 4.8% year-on-year in February 2026, down from a near four-year high rise of 8.2% in January. Growth moderated in automotive fuel sold in specialized stores, which rose 16.9% compared with 24.2% in the previous month, and non-food products excluding fuel, which increased 7.9% from 12.7% in January. At the same time, retail activity continued to contract for food, beverages, and tobacco, declining 2.6% compared with a 1.8% drop in the prior month. On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 5.8% in February, slowing from a 13.6% decline in the preceding period.

Retail sales in Estonia surged 8.2% year-on-year in January 2026, rebounding from a 0.4% decline in December and marking the highest growth since April 2022. Sales of motor fuel in specialised stores jumped to 24.2% in January from 10.2% in the previous month, mainly due to falling fuel prices. The sales revenue of motor fuel retailers includes not only fuel sales but also total revenue from other goods and services, such as catering, while sales in industrial goods stores rose 13% year-on-year. Conversely, grocery store sales fell 2% year-on-year, driven by higher food prices. On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 13.6%, reversing a 13.2% gain in December, a typical drop following the holiday surge.

Retail sales in Estonia fell by 0.4% year-on-year in December 2025, the same pace as the previous month. This marked the second consecutive month of decline in retail activity and the lowest reading since August as sales growth moderated for automotive fuel (10.2% vs 13% in November), while trade dropped sharply for textiles, clothing, and footwear (-2.4% vs 0.5%) and second-hand goods in stores, retail sales in kiosks and markets, other retail sales not in stores, kiosks or markets (-6.1% vs 10.3%). On the other hand, activity fell at a softer pace in food, beverages, or tobacco predominating (-4.3% vs -4.7%), other non-specialized stores (-3.8% vs -8.3%), household goods and appliances, hardware and building materials (-4.9% vs -6.4%), mail-order and internet (-4% vs -9.7%). On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 13.2% in December, rebounding sharply from a ten-month low of a 4.8% fall in the preceding period.