Hungary Retail Sales Growth Eases in February

Retail sales in Hungary rose by 3.8% year-on-year in February 2026 from 3.5% in the previous two months. This marked the highest reading since April 2025, driven by higher sales for automotive fuel (6.4% vs 5.7% in January) and non-food products (5% vs 4.7%), particularly in textiles, clothing, and footwear (7.8% vs 6.7%), miscellaneous industrial goods (4.9% vs 1.9%), and perfume (12.4% vs 10.8%). At the same time, activity increased in food products (2.2% vs 1.2%), lifted by slower declines in the sale of specialized food and beverage stores (-4.3% vs -6.5%). Meanwhile, sales moderated in books, computer equipment, and others (2.6% vs 3.3%) and computer equipment and others (3.1% vs 4.4%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade grew by 0.4% in February, easing slightly from a 0.5% increase in the preceding period.

Retail sales in Hungary rose 3.5% year-on-year in January 2026, unchanged from the previous month. Sales rose faster for automotive fuel (5.7% vs 1.7% in December 2025). Additionally, non-food sales increased (4.7% vs 4.4%), particularly in textiles, clothing, and footwear (6.7% vs 1.2%), computer equipment and others (4.4% vs 2.8%) and books, computer equipment and others (3.3% vs 2.4%). On the other hand, growth in food retailing eased (1.2% vs 2.0%), reflecting steeper declines in specialized food and beverage stores (-6.5% vs -3.2%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade edged up 0.5%, following a 0.4% increase in the previous month.

Retail sales in Hungary grew by 3.5% year-on-year in December 2025, accelerating from a 2.5% rise in the previous month. This was the highest increase since April, driven mainly by a faster rise in automotive fuel sales (1.7% vs 0.7% in November). Meanwhile, growth in food retailing eased (2.1% vs 2.6%), reflecting smaller gains in non-specialized food and beverage stores (3.3% vs 4.3%), which account for about 78% of total food retail sales. Non-food sales also slowed down (4.3% vs 4.6%), particularly in cosmetics (11.0% vs 14.1%) and mail-order and online sales (2.8% vs 11.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade rose by 0.2%, following a 0.1% increase in December. For 2025 as a whole, retail sales went up by 2.9%, higher than the 2.6% rise recorded in 2024.