Volume of retail trade up by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU

Overview

In August 2024, compared with July 2024, the seasonally adjusted retail trade volume increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In July 2024, retail trade volume remained stable in the euro area and grew by 0.1% in the EU.

In August 2024 compared with August 2023, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 0.8% the euro area and by 1.0% in the EU.

Monthly comparison by retail sector and by Member State

In the euro area in August 2024, compared with July 2024, the volume of retail trade

increased for food, drinks, tobacco by 0.2%,
increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.3%,
increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 1.1%.

In the EU, the volume of retail trade

increased for food, drinks, tobacco by 0.1%,
increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.3%,
increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 1.0%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Luxembourg (+5.3%), Cyprus (+2.2%) and Romania (+1.6%). The largest decreases were observed in Denmark (-1.5%), Slovakia (-1.1%), Bulgaria and Croatia (both -0.7%).

Annual comparison by retail sector and by Member State

In the euro area in August 2024, compared with August 2023, the volume of retail trade

decreased for food, drinks, tobacco by 0.2%,
increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 1.4%,
increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 2.5%.

In the EU, the volume of retail trade

remained stable for food, drinks, tobacco,
increased for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 1.7%,
increased for automotive fuel in specialised stores by 2.0%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Luxembourg (+17.3%), Romania (+8.9%), Croatia and Cyprus (both +5.7%). The largest decreases were observed in Estonia (-2.7%), Belgium (-1.7%), Denmark and Ireland (both -1.6%).

Tables

Volume of retail trade
% change compared with the previous month*

Share
	2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area
Total retail trade	0.6	0.0	0.1	-0.4	0.0	0.2
Food, drinks, tobacco	1.1	-0.9	1.0	-0.7	0.1	0.2
Non-food products (except automotive fuel)	-0.1	0.7	-0.2	-0.1	-0.1	0.3
Automotive fuel in specialised stores	0.6	-0.4	0.1	-0.4	-0.6	1.1
EU
Total retail trade	0.5	-0.1	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.3
Food, drinks, tobacco	0.9	-1.4	1.4	-1.0	0.3	0.1
Non-food products (except automotive fuel)	-0.3	0.8	-0.4	-0.1	0.2	0.3
Automotive fuel in specialised stores	0.1	-0.2	-0.3	-0.1	-1.1	1.0

Volume of retail trade
% change compared with the previous month*

Share
				2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area	0.6	0.0	0.1	-0.4	0.0	0.2
EU	0.5	-0.1	0.0	-0.3	0.1	0.3
Belgium	0.1	-0.1	0.1	-1.0	1.1	0.2
Bulgaria	-1.3	1.9	-0.7	1.5	0.8	-0.7
Czechia	1.2	0.1	-0.5	0.3	0.7	c
Denmark	0.3	-1.0	-0.5	1.1	-0.2	-1.5
Germany**	2.7	-0.2	:	:	:	:
Estonia	0.5	-1.2	-0.7	-0.8	0.6	0.4
Ireland	-0.3	0.8	0.0	-0.8	0.6	-0.6
Greece	6.4	-5.7	10.8	-4.3	-3.2	c
Spain	-0.4	0.8	-0.5	0.4	0.6	0.4
France	-0.6	0.1	-0.3	-0.6	-0.4	0.5
Croatia	0.4	0.6	0.4	-1.2	1.4	-0.7
Italy	0.1	-0.2	0.1	-0.1	0.1	0.0
Cyprus	2.2	-1.1	1.6	0.1	-1.1	2.2
Latvia	0.1	-2.9	1.3	-1.2	1.3	0.3
Lithuania	1.6	-1.3	2.1	-2.0	1.4	0.2
Luxembourg	1.5	1.0	1.3	0.6	-6.0	5.3
Hungary	2.0	-1.0	0.1	-0.1	0.1	0.8
Malta	-1.1	1.2	-0.5	-0.4	0.1	-0.1
Netherlands	-0.5	-1.1	0.7	-1.6	0.6	0.8
Austria	-0.7	1.7	-0.4	-2.4	2.4	0.0
Poland	-1.0	-1.1	-0.7	-0.5	1.2	0.5
Portugal	-0.1	2.1	0.4	0.7	-0.5	1.3
Romania	1.0	0.6	-0.3	1.3	-1.6	1.6
Slovenia	1.7	0.5	-0.8	-1.1	1.9	-0.6
Slovakia	-0.7	2.3	-1.1	-1.2	1.8	-1.1
Finland	0.7	-1.5	2.1	-1.5	0.0	0.3
Sweden	-2.3	0.0	0.6	-0.9	0.9	0.6
Norway	0.4	-0.1	3.7	-5.1	1.2	0.1
Switzerland	-0.2	0.1	-0.1	-0.6	2.2	0.4

Volume of retail trade
% change compared with the same month of the previous year*

Share
	2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area
Total retail trade	0.6	0.8	0.5	-0.3	-0.1	0.8
Food, drinks, tobacco	0.9	-0.2	0.5	-0.9	-0.8	-0.2
Non-food products (except automotive fuel)	0.7	1.3	0.8	0.2	0.3	1.4
Automotive fuel in specialised stores	-1.0	1.6	0.3	-0.3	-0.7	2.5
EU
Total retail trade	1.3	0.5	0.6	0.0	0.3	1.0
Food, drinks, tobacco	1.4	-0.1	0.9	-0.7	-0.5	0.0
Non-food products (except automotive fuel)	1.8	0.8	0.8	0.4	1.0	1.7
Automotive fuel in specialised stores	-1.1	1.6	-0.1	0.4	-0.6	2.0

Volume of retail trade
% change compared with the same month of the previous year*

Share
	2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area	0.6	0.8	0.5	-0.3	-0.1	0.8
EU	1.3	0.5	0.6	0.0	0.3	1.0
Belgium	-4.3	-5.1	-4.6	-6.3	-4.0	-1.7
Bulgaria	0.4	9.9	1.6	4.4	6.8	4.9
Czechia	5.9	5.7	3.0	3.7	4.5	c
Denmark	3.3	-0.4	-0.4	1.6	3.3	-1.6
Germany**	1.0	0.3	:	:	:	:
Estonia	-2.3	-4.9	-4.0	-4.1	-3.1	-2.7
Ireland	0.2	1.4	-0.3	-1.4	1.0	-1.6
Greece	5.3	-6.4	10.5	5.9	-2.8	c
Spain	0.6	0.5	0.1	0.4	1.2	2.4
France	0.7	2.9	1.8	0.1	-1.4	0.3
Croatia	8.9	8.6	8.4	5.6	7.9	5.7
Italy	-1.3	-1.0	-0.8	-0.9	-0.2	-0.1
Cyprus	5.0	1.9	3.8	3.9	1.1	5.7
Latvia	2.7	0.2	0.9	-1.2	0.0	0.8
Lithuania	6.2	2.4	5.7	2.6	5.6	4.4
Luxembourg	17.6	19.0	20.3	17.6	10.0	17.3
Hungary	4.1	3.2	3.7	2.5	2.5	4.1
Malta	-1.0	4.0	1.0	-0.5	-0.8	-1.0
Netherlands	3.2	1.9	2.4	-1.9	1.8	2.0
Austria	-1.8	1.8	1.0	-4.0	-0.3	0.5
Poland	8.2	-7.8	-2.1	-2.4	1.2	0.7
Portugal	0.9	1.9	2.9	3.2	2.3	5.4
Romania	5.7	9.9	6.1	10.3	6.5	8.9
Slovenia	-1.7	1.2	-0.7	-0.3	3.1	1.6
Slovakia	1.4	8.6	5.3	1.7	5.0	1.1
Finland	0.0	-4.4	0.1	-1.5	-1.5	-0.7
Sweden	0.0	-0.4	0.9	-0.6	0.4	1.5
Norway	0.9	0.9	3.2	-2.8	-0.7	0.0
Switzerland	-0.1	2.2	-0.1	-2.8	3.0	3.2

Volume of retail trade, calendar and seasonally adjusted indices
(base year 2021)

Share
	2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area	99.8	99.8	99.9	99.5	99.5	99.7
EU	100.3	100.2	100.2	99.9	100.0	100.3
Belgium	89.5	89.4	89.5	88.6	89.6	89.8
Bulgaria	108.1	110.2	109.4	111.0	111.9	111.1
Czechia	95.4	95.5	95.0	95.3	96.0	c
Denmark	94.1	93.2	92.7	93.7	93.5	92.1
Germany*	96.8	96.6	:	:	:	:
Estonia	91.8	90.7	90.1	89.4	89.9	90.3
Ireland	108.0	108.9	108.9	108.0	108.6	108.0
Greece	101.6	95.8	106.1	101.5	98.3	c
Spain	105.0	105.8	105.3	105.7	106.3	106.7
France	102.2	102.3	102.0	101.4	101.0	101.5
Croatia	111.0	111.7	112.1	110.8	112.4	111.6
Italy	97.7	97.5	97.6	97.5	97.6	97.6
Cyprus	113.9	112.7	114.5	114.6	113.3	115.8
Latvia	103.7	100.7	102.0	100.8	102.1	102.4
Lithuania	103.1	101.8	103.9	101.8	103.2	103.4
Luxembourg	118.5	119.7	121.3	122.0	114.7	120.8
Hungary	100.4	99.4	99.5	99.4	99.5	100.3
Malta	112.1	113.5	112.9	112.4	112.5	112.4
Netherlands	101.3	100.2	100.9	99.3	99.9	100.7
Austria	94.7	96.3	95.9	93.6	95.8	95.8
Poland	108.0	106.8	106.1	105.6	106.9	107.4
Portugal	107.0	109.2	109.6	110.4	109.8	111.2
Romania	114.2	114.9	114.6	116.1	114.3	116.1
Slovenia	99.3	99.8	99.0	97.9	99.8	99.2
Slovakia	101.0	103.3	102.2	101.0	102.8	101.7
Finland	92.3	90.9	92.8	91.4	91.4	91.7
Sweden	93.2	93.2	93.8	93.0	93.8	94.4
Norway	92.6	92.5	95.9	91.0	92.1	92.2
Switzerland	98.8	98.9	98.8	98.2	100.4	100.8

Volume of retail trade, calendar adjusted indices
(base year 2021)

Share
	2024
	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Euro area	98.2	96.4	99.8	100.1	98.7	102.2
EU	98.8	97.1	100.4	100.6	99.6	102.6
Belgium	88.7	87.2	91.0	91.5	90.2	84.5
Bulgaria	104.3	108.4	106.4	109.9	116.2	115.9
Czechia	93.0	91.3	94.8	95.7	94.7	c
Denmark	91.4	92.0	98.2	97.4	93.1	93.4
Germany*	98.5	96.2	:	:	:	:
Estonia	90.8	87.3	93.5	91.5	93.9	93.7
Ireland	99.0	101.0	105.4	112.6	99.4	101.9
Greece	95.7	92.9	103.9	102.2	103.4	c
Spain	101.3	101.2	104.2	107.3	115.0	106.4
France	99.9	99.4	100.4	101.9	84.9	117.2
Croatia	102.6	106.8	113.4	118.6	139.3	136.2
Italy	94.1	88.2	97.4	97.4	105.4	96.4
Cyprus	109.4	109.1	111.9	115.9	120.0	115.4
Latvia	101.0	98.2	104.5	102.2	106.8	107.9
Lithuania	101.1	99.9	108.3	103.9	108.6	109.7
Luxembourg	122.3	116.5	123.2	124.7	117.5	110.1
Hungary	98.3	95.5	99.3	100.7	102.5	103.0
Malta	107.6	110.6	117.0	113.2	117.5	113.2
Netherlands	100.5	98.9	105.1	101.6	102.1	95.9
Austria	96.8	97.5	94.8	93.6	97.9	94.8
Poland	111.7	107.1	106.2	104.9	108.3	109.3
Portugal	102.7	102.3	107.9	105.9	117.1	118.7
Romania	110.6	113.6	114.0	115.4	118.7	123.1
Slovenia	100.7	99.3	97.9	99.8	103.2	99.4
Slovakia	102.9	101.0	103.9	103.2	102.3	101.0
Finland	88.1	87.6	97.7	98.0	97.6	95.6
Sweden	91.1	92.3	100.3	99.1	96.8	95.8
Norway	88.2	87.5	102.8	97.3	91.2	94.4
Switzerland	99.7	95.7	101.0	97.2	99.7	95.7

Notes for users

Revisions and timetable

Data of previous months have been revised compared to those issued in the News Release of 5 September 2024. The monthly percentage change for July 2024 has been revised from +0.1% to 0.0% in the euro area and from +0.2% to +0.1% in the EU. The annual percentage change remained stable at -0.1% in the euro area and has been revised from +0.4% to +0.3% in the EU.

Methods and definitions

The index of the volume of retail trade measures the evolution of the turnover in retail trade, adjusted for price changes (deflated), i.e. the evolution of the total amount of goods sold, based on data adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects.

Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data.

Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the euro area and the EU aggregates.

Starting with reference period January 2024, the base year of the data has been changed to 2021, since 2018 the base year had been 2015. More information on the reasons for and impact of the base year change can be found in the related Statistics Explained article.

Geographical information

The euro area (EA20) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.