Retail sales in Hungary increased by 4.9% year-on-year in July 2026, accelerating from a seven-month low of 3% recorded in June. This was the fastest annual growth since March, supported by stronger sales of both food and non-food products.
Sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose by 2.2%, up from 1.8% in June, while non-food retail turnover grew by 6.5%, compared with 5.1% in the previous month. Within the non-food segment, growth was particularly robust in:
- pharmaceuticals, medical products and perfumes (9.2%),
- books, computers and other industrial goods (5.9%),
- textiles, clothing and footwear (5.4%),
- furniture and technical goods (5.2%),
- industrial goods-type mixed retail (5.1%).
By contrast, sales of second-hand goods declined by 4.1%.
Overall retail performance was further bolstered by a strong rebound in fuel sales, which rose by 8.1% after a 0.3% decline in June. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, total retail activity increased by 1%, offsetting the 0.4% drop seen in the previous month.
Over the first seven months of 2026, retail sales were up 4.5% compared with the same period a year earlier.
