Bulgaria among EU member states with highest annual retail sales growth in May

Baku,, Jul 7 (AZERTACAPP): Bulgaria was among the European Union Member States with the highest annual retail sales growth in May 2026, recording an increase of 7.9%, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported citing the Eurostat on Monday.

In May 2026, compared with May 2025, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU.

On an annual basis, retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose by 2.4% in the euro area and 1.9% in the EU. Sales of non-food products (except automotive fuel) increased by 2.3% and 2.8%, respectively, while sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores declined by 4.6% in the euro area and 2.9% across the EU.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Cyprus (+8.4%), Bulgaria (+7.9%) and Luxembourg (+7.8%). Decreases were observed in Romania (-4.0%), Estonia (-0.5%) and Belgium (-0.4%).

In May 2026, compared with April 2026, the seasonally adjusted retail trade volume increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.5% in the EU. Bulgaria posted a 0.8% monthly increase. In the euro area, sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose by 0.6%, while sales of non-food products (excluding automotive fuel) edged up by 0.1%.

Sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores fell by 0.5%.Across the EU, sales of food, drinks and tobacco increased by 0.6%, non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.5%, while automotive fuel sales declined by 0.4%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Cyprus (+3.7%), Luxembourg (+3.6%) and Poland (+2.4%). The largest decreases were observed in Estonia (-2.2%), Croatia (-2.0%), Belgium and Lithuania (both -0.7%)