Retail sales in Latvia rose by 2.6% year-on-year in April 2026, slowing from a revised 4.2% increase in March and marking the weakest growth since December 2025. The deceleration was largely driven by softer demand for non-food products (excluding automotive fuel), including communication equipment in specialized stores (up 5.3% vs 11.9% in March), hardware, instruments, construction materials and sanitary equipment (5.2% vs 11.1%), as well as cultural and recreation goods (5.9% vs 12.4%). Growth in automotive fuel sales also moderated (3% vs 6.6%).
Sales turned negative in non-specialised stores (-1.6% vs +1.8% in March) and in clothing, footwear and leather goods (-8.8% vs +3.7%). In contrast, several categories strengthened: electrical household appliances (3% vs 1.9%), pharmaceutical and medical goods (9.2% vs 2.7%), cosmetic and toilet articles (2.9% vs 2.2%), and distance retailing via mail order houses or the internet (4.5% vs 0.7%).
On a month-on-month basis, retail sales declined by 0.4% in April, following a 0.1% drop in March.
