Eurozone retail sales fell sharply in July as weaker demand for non-food goods outweighed an increase in spending on food, drink and tobacco, official figures showed.
The volume of retail trade dropped by 0.6% from June, according to Eurostat, confounding expectations of a 0.3% rise. Non-food sales declined by 1.4%, while purchases of food, drink and tobacco increased by 0.4%.
Sales of automotive fuel in specialised shops also weakened, falling by 0.8% during the month.
The figures pointed to a broader slowdown across the European Union, where retail trade volume fell by 0.4%. Non-food sales declined by 1.1% and fuel sales by 1.1%, while food, drink and tobacco sales rose by 0.3%.
Germany recorded the steepest monthly fall among eurozone members, with retail trade down 3.4%. Spain followed with a decline of 0.9%, while sales in Italy and Poland fell by 0.3%.
Retail activity increased most strongly in Latvia, where sales rose by 2.5%, followed by Cyprus at 2% and Luxembourg at 1.8%.
Despite the monthly setback, sales remained above last year’s levels. Compared with July 2025, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index rose by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 1% across the EU.
Eurozone food, drink and tobacco sales were up 1.6% year on year, while non-food sales edged 0.2% higher. Automotive fuel sales, however, were down 3.1% over the same period.
Cyprus recorded the largest annual increase, at 8.6%, followed by Latvia at 7.1% and Sweden at 6.4%. Romania saw the sharpest fall, with retail sales down 5.7%, while Germany declined by 2.5% and Italy by 1%.
Eurostat also revised its estimate for June. Retail trade was recalculated as rising by 0.2% in both the eurozone and the EU, rather than falling by 0.3% and 0.1% respectively as previously reported.
