Eurozone Retail Sales Inch Higher

Retail sales volumes in the Eurozone inched higher by 0.1% from the previous month in August of 2026, loosely aligned with market expectations of a 0.2% increase and trimming the 0.6% drop in July, which was the sharpest decline in over one year. Sales were sharply higher for core non-food products (0.5% vs -1.2% in July) to reflect some fresh resilience to higher borrowing costs and prices, while food, drinks, and tobacco sales also inched up (0.1% vs -0.1%). In turn, automotive fuel sales volumes plunged 1.9%, extending the 0.2% drop in the earlier period as the surge in fuel prices drove consumers to cut back on tank refills. From the previous year, Eurozone retail sales jumped by 0.8%, rebounding from the two-year low increase of 0.4% in July.

Eurozone retail sales fell 0.6% month-on-month in July 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.2% increase in June and missing market expectations of a 0.3% rise. It was the first decline in retail trade since April and the steepest since May 2025, driven by weaker sales of non-food products (-1.4% vs. 0.5%) and fuel (-0.8% vs. 1.8%). Meanwhile, sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose 0.4%, rebounding from a 0.6% decline in June. Among the eurozone’s largest economies, retail sales fell sharply in Germany (-3.4% vs. 0.0%), Spain (-0.9% vs. 0.4%) and Italy (-0.3% vs. 0.0%), while increasing in France (0.9% vs. 0.4%) and the Netherlands (0.2%, unchanged from June). On an annual basis, retail sales growth slowed to 0.6% in July from 1.4% in June, marking the weakest pace in two years.

Retail sales in the Euro Area unexpectedly fell 0.3% month-on-month in June 2026, almost fully reversing an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in May and defying market expectations for a 0.1% gain. Sales decreased for food, drinks and tobacco (-0.5% vs 0.4% in May) and non-food products except auto fuel (-0.4% vs 0.5%) while sales of auto fuel rebounded (1.5% vs -1.8%). Considering the bloc's largest economies, retail sales declined in Germany (-1.1% vs 1.2%) and France (-0.5% vs -0.1%) but increased in Italy (0.2% vs -0.3%), Spain (0.3% vs 0.6%) and the Netherlands (0.4% vs -0.1%). Year-on-year, retail sales were up 0.7%, the smallest gain since July 2024, following an upwardly revised 1.9% increase in May and compared to forecasts of 1%.