Sweden Retail Sales Growth Hits 5-Year High

Retail sales in Sweden rose 8.0% year-on-year in May 2026, accelerating from a 4.7% rise in the previous month and marking the strongest growth since May 2021. Sales of durable goods advanced 10.3% from a revised 5.4% in April, while sales of consumables (excluding Systembolaget) also strengthened to 5.5% from 3.7%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 0.2% in May, reversing from a 0.2% increase in the previous month. Over the latest three-month period (March–May), the calendar-adjusted and seasonally adjusted retail sales volume was 2.2% higher than in the preceding three-month period (December–February).

Retail sales in Sweden rose 4.7% year-on-year in April 2026, easing from a downwardly revised 5.8% increase in the previous month. Sales growth for durable goods slowed to 5.5% from a revised 9.5% in March. In contrast, sales of consumables (excluding Systembolaget) accelerated to 3.7% from 1.9%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity was flat after a revised 2.9% increase in the prior period. During the latest three-month period (February-April), the calendar-adjusted and seasonally adjusted sales volume in retail trade was 0.4% higher than in the preceding three-month period (November-January).

Retail sales in Sweden climbed by 6.2% year-on-year in March 2026, accelerating from a downwardly revised 2.2% increase in the previous month. This marked the sharpest rise in retail activity since November 2025, largely driven by a 9% surge (vs 4.4% in February) in sales of durable goods. At the same time, turnover of consumables (excluding Systembolaget) recovered, up 3.3% after a 0.5% fall in the prior month. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, retail sales rose by 3.1% in March, the fastest rise since December 2024 and rebounding from a 0.8% drop in the previous period. During the most recent three-month period (January-March), retail trade's calendar-adjusted and seasonally adjusted sales volume was 0.4 percent higher than in the preceding three-month period (October-December).