Eurozone retail sales fall by more than expected
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Thursday 05 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - Retail volumes fell by more than expected in the Eurozone in December, official figures released on Thursday showed.
According to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the volume of retail trade fell 0.5% in both the Eurozone and across the wider bloc. The decline reversed the upticks seen in November, of 0.1% in the Eurozone and 0.2% in the EU.
Expectations had been for a more modest 0.2% drop.
The weakest demand was seen in non-food products, excluding automotive fuel, where volumes declined 1.2% in the Eurozone. Growth in food, drinks and tobacco was also only minimal, at 0.1%.
Among individual countries, sale volumes rose just 0.1% in Germany - the region's biggest economy - although that was a noble improvement on November's 0.5% decline. In contrast, they fell 0.9% in Spain, 1.4% in France and 0.5% in Italy.
However, Pierre Roke, global capital markets analyst at Validus Risk Management, noted that December's decline was the first following three consecutive months of improvement.
"The Eurozone has benefited significantly from a prolonged period of low inflation and accommodative interest rates," he added. "The broader macro backdrop remains supportive. Forward-looking indicators continue to point to improving momentum, particularly in core economies such as Germany."
The European Central Bank is widely slated to leave interest rates on hold later on Thursday, after inflation dipped below its 2% target in January.
Year-on-year, retail sales volumes rose 1.3% in the Eurozone, slightly below forecasts for a 1.6% increase.
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