Portugal Retail Sales Accelerate to 5.5%

Retail sales in Portugal increased 5.5% year-on-year in March 2026, the most in four months, following a downwardly revised 2.8% rise in February. Sales of non-food products surged by 7.7%, from 1.8% in February, led by fuel sales (4.9% versus 2.8%), pharmaceutical products and cosmetics (5.6% versus 3.6%) and clothing and textiles (5.9% versus 2.1%). Meanwhile, sales for computers, telecommunications equipment, and books rebounded sharply, rising 9.6% after a 1.9% decline. On the other hand, growth in food, beverages, and tobacco moderated to 2.5%, easing from a 4.2% rise. On a monthly basis, retail sales grew by 1.8%, up from a 0.6% decline in February.

Retail sales in Portugal increased 4.9% year-on-year in February 2026, following a downwardly revised 4.4% rise in January. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco increased 4.3%, the same as in January while sales of non-food products were up 5.3%, above 4.4% in January, led by faster increases for fuels (2.6% vs 0.6%) and clothing and textiles (23.5% vs 8.8%). On the other hand, a slowdown was seen for house goods (1.5% vs 5.5%) and pharmaceutical products and cosmetics (6.7% vs 7.4%) and sales fell for computers, telecommunication goods and books (-2.8% vs 0.8%). Compared to the previous month, retail sales went up 0.7%, following a 1.8% rise in January.

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.