Russia Retail Sales Growth Hits 6-Month High

Retail sales in Russia rose by 6.5% year-on-year in April 2026, up from a 6.2% increase in March and marking the strongest growth since last October. Growth continued to be driven by non-food goods, whose sales jumped 9.2% annually in April, accelerating slightly from 9.0% in March. Sales of food products, beverages, and tobacco also strengthened, rising 3.6% after a 3.2% gain in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail turnover eased 2.2% following a revised 14.9% surge in March. In the first four months of the year, cumulative retail sales climbed 4.3% from a year earlier.

Retail sales in Russia jumped by 6.2% year-on-year in March 2026, the strongest pace in five months, following a revised 2.0% gain in February. The surge was driven by non-food goods, which jumped 9.1% from 3.4% previously. Spending on food products also increased at a faster 3.1% compared to 0.6% in the month before. On a monthly basis, retail sales soared by 14.9%, after a revised 2% decline in the previous month. In the first quarter, retail sales grew 3.6% compared to 2.8% in the same period a year ago.

Retail sales in Russia went up by 0.7% year-on-year in January 2026, slowing from a 3.9% increase in December and missing analysts' forecasts of a 1.7% rise. This marked the smallest increase in retail sales activity since a decline was observed in March 2023, reflecting weaker household spending on food products, including beverages, and tobacco products (0.8% vs 2.2% in December) and non-food products (0.7% vs 5.7%). On a monthly basis, retail trade plunged 22.2%, after a 17.1% jump in the preceding month. Retail sales growth slowed considerably in 2025, reaching 2.6% compared with 7.7% in the previous year.