Retail sales in Hungary rose by 3.8% year-on-year in February 2026, up from 3.5% in each of the previous two months. This was the strongest growth since April 2025 and was supported by higher sales of automotive fuel (6.4% vs. 5.7% in January) and non-food products (5% vs. 4.7%). Within the non-food segment, growth was particularly strong in textiles, clothing, and footwear (7.8% vs. 6.7%), miscellaneous industrial goods (4.9% vs. 1.9%), and perfumes (12.4% vs. 10.8%).
Food product sales also picked up (2.2% vs. 1.2%), helped by a slower decline in specialized food and beverage stores (-4.3% vs. -6.5%). By contrast, growth in several other categories eased, including books, computer equipment, and other goods (2.6% vs. 3.3%) and a broader category of computer equipment and other items (3.1% vs. 4.4%).
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade expanded by 0.4% in February, slightly below the 0.5% increase recorded in the previous month.
