Thursday, 8 October 2026
Czech retail sales continued to expand in August 2026, supported by online shopping and stronger spending on non-food products, although overall growth slowed compared with July. Sales excluding the automotive sector increased by 4.3% year-on-year and by 0.2% from the previous month, according to the Czech Statistical Office.
The annual increase moderated from a revised 5.1% in July, but spending remained positive across much of the retail market. Non-food sales rose 7.4% compared with August 2025, while food retailers recorded a 3% increase. Fuel was the main exception, with sales declining by 3.2%.
E-commerce remained the fastest-growing part of the market. Online and mail-order retailers generated 15% more sales than a year earlier, extending the shift towards digital purchasing. Clothing and footwear stores also performed strongly, with revenues increasing by 10%, while all of the main specialised non-food categories recorded annual growth.
Month-on-month data showed that non-food sales increased by 0.7% and food by 0.3%. Fuel sales, however, fell by 2.1%. Economists attributed the broader resilience of consumer spending partly to improving real household incomes, which are providing more room for discretionary purchases despite weaker confidence indicators.
The decline in fuel sales coincided with higher prices at filling stations. Analysts said motorists tend to reduce consumption when prices rise sharply, while some consumers living near national borders may also purchase fuel in neighbouring markets where pricing is more favourable.
Food retail also continued to grow, although the increase does not necessarily indicate that households are purchasing substantially larger quantities. Industry representatives pointed to changes in purchasing behaviour, including consumers choosing higher-value products, while economists also highlighted the influence of food-price movements on nominal sales.
The automotive sector moved in the opposite direction to the wider retail market. Revenues from vehicle sales and repairs decreased by 2.2% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month. Vehicle and spare-parts sales were 2.1% lower than a year earlier, while repair revenues declined by 2.5%.
Economists expect household consumption to remain supportive of the Czech economy during the remainder of the year. Forecasts accompanying the August figures put full-year retail growth excluding vehicles at approximately 3.5% to 4.5%. For shopping centres and retailers, the composition of that growth is particularly significant: discretionary non-food categories and e-commerce are expanding considerably faster than the overall market, while fuel and automotive spending remain under pressure.
