Portugal Retail Sales Growth Slows

Retail sales in Portugal increased 4.6% year-on-year in January 2026, following a downwardly revised 2.8% rise in December. Sales rose at a faster pace for food, beverages and tobacco (5.1% vs 3.6%) and non-food (4.9% vs 4.3%), led by fuels (0.4% vs -3%), household goods (7.1% vs 4.4%) and textiles, clothing and footwear (9.1% vs 5.1%). Meanwhile, sales slowed for computers, telecommunications equipment, books, and other products in specialized stores (1.1% vs 5.4%) and pharmaceutical products (7.8% vs 10.1%). Sales by mail, Internet, and other means retreated 0.3%, after a 10.2% jump in December. Compared to the previous month, retail sales rose 2%, following a 3.1% fall in December.

Retail sales in Portugal increased 3.1% year-on-year in December 2025, the smallest gain since April, following an upwardly revised 6.5% rise in November. Sales slowed for textiles, clothing and footwear (5.6% vs 14.6%); computers, telecommunications equipment, books (4.4% vs 10.3%); and pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic and personal care products (9.4% vs 9.9%). Also, sales of fuel continued to decline 0.3%. In contrast, sales of household goods increased more (4.4% vs 2.7%). Compared to the previous month, retail sales tumbled 3.2%, the biggest drop since January 2022, following an upwardly revised 2.4% increase in November.

Portugal’s retail sales growth accelerated to 6.4% year-on-year in November 2025, up from a revised 4.3% in October, marking the strongest pace since April 2022. The rise was broad-based, led by food, beverages, and tobacco (4.9% vs 4.2% in October) and non-food items (9.4% vs 5.2%), including computers, telecom equipment, books, and other products (10.3% vs 8.5%), pharmaceuticals and hygiene products (9.9% vs 9.6%), textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods (14.7% vs 0.4%), household goods (2.6% vs 2.1%), and online sales (2.5% vs 0.3%). Fuel sales, however, fell 1.4% after a 0.6% gain in October. On a monthly basis, retail sales jumped 2.3% in November, the largest increase since May.