Retail sales in Bulgaria increased by 3.9% year-on-year in January 2026, slowing from a revised 8.2% rise in December. The deceleration was mainly due to weaker growth in sales of non-food products excluding fuel (8.3% vs 16.6% in December), reflecting smaller gains in audio and video equipment (15.3% vs 29.4%), computers, peripheral devices and software (10.5% vs 16.5%), and information and communication equipment (12.7% vs 22.7%).
At the same time, sales of pharmaceutical and orthopedic goods continued to contract, though at a slower pace (-2.7% vs -10.4%). Sales of automotive fuel also declined (-1.5% vs a 15.4% increase previously), and growth in sales via mail-order houses and the internet eased (13% vs 14.7%). In contrast, sales of food, beverages, and tobacco were unchanged after a 4.6% drop in December.
On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 0.5% in January, reversing part of the 1.6% gain recorded in the previous month.
