Retail sales in Greece increased by 6.8% year-on-year in May 2026, rebounding from a 0.3% decline in April and marking the strongest rise since April 2025. The recovery was driven by broad-based gains across major categories, led by a sharp pickup in non-food sales excluding automotive fuel (7.7% vs -1.1% in April). Food sales also strengthened (7.7% vs 2.9%), while the decline in automotive fuel sales eased significantly (-0.6% vs -6.6%).
Among key retail segments, growth accelerated in furniture, electrical equipment, and household goods (10.6% vs 5.3%); pharmaceutical products and cosmetics (8.4% vs 2.6%); food, beverages, and tobacco (7.9% vs 3.3%); and supermarkets (6.9% vs 1.9%). At the same time, clothing and footwear (8.6% vs -6.3%) and department stores (5.8% vs -3.9%) returned to growth, while automotive fuel remained in contraction, though the rate of decline moderated substantially (-0.6% vs -6.6%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, overall retail activity rose by 3.3% in May.
