Retail Sales Growth Slows in December

Retail sales in North Macedonia rose 1.2% year on year in December 2025, easing from a 2.3% increase in November. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco grew 4.6%, while automotive fuel sales advanced 1.5%. In contrast, sales of non-food products excluding fuel fell 3.0%, weighing on overall growth. On a nominal basis, retail turnover increased 4.8% in December.

Retail sales in North Macedonia rose by 2.3% from the previous year in November of 2025, extending the 3% increase in the previous month to mark the first back-to-back expansion since June. Sales were sharply higher for food, beverages, and tobacco (6.5%) and non-food and non-fuel goods (1.5%). On the other hand, sales of automotive fuel fell sharply (-5.7%). On a nominal basis, Macedonian retail sales expanded by 6.4%.

Retail sales in Macedonia rose by 3% year-on-year in October 2025, rebounding from a 0.2% fall in the previous month. This marked the strongest growth since June, as sales recovered sharply for food, beverages, and tobacco (7.3% vs -7.1% in September) and automotive fuel (4.3% vs -1.5%). In contrast, sales declined for non-food products (-1.9% vs 7.6%). Excluding fuel, retail trade climbed to 2.6% from 0.1% in September.