Eurozone Retail Sales Contract in December

2026-02-05 10:27 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

Eurozone retail sales fell by 0.5% month on month in December 2025, reversing a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in November and undershooting market expectations for a 0.2% decline.

The weakness was led by non-food retailing, where sales dropped 1.2%, the steepest fall since September 2023, ending a three-month run of gains.

Fuel sales were unchanged for a second consecutive month, while sales of food, drinks and tobacco edged up by 0.1%, following a 0.4% decline in November.

Among the region’s largest economies, retail activity contracted notably in France (-1.4%), Spain (-0.9%) and Italy (-0.5%), while Germany recorded a modest increase of 0.1%.

On an annual basis, retail sales growth slowed sharply to 1.3% in December, down from 2.4% in November and below the 1.6% consensus forecast, underscoring a loss of consumer momentum toward year-end.



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Eurozone Retail Sales Contract in December
Eurozone retail sales fell by 0.5% month on month in December 2025, reversing a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in November and undershooting market expectations for a 0.2% decline. The weakness was led by non-food retailing, where sales dropped 1.2%, the steepest fall since September 2023, ending a three-month run of gains. Fuel sales were unchanged for a second consecutive month, while sales of food, drinks and tobacco edged up by 0.1%, following a 0.4% decline in November. Among the region’s largest economies, retail activity contracted notably in France (-1.4%), Spain (-0.9%) and Italy (-0.5%), while Germany recorded a modest increase of 0.1%. On an annual basis, retail sales growth slowed sharply to 1.3% in December, down from 2.4% in November and below the 1.6% consensus forecast, underscoring a loss of consumer momentum toward year-end.
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