Retail sales in the Czech Republic rose by 5% year-on-year in January 2026, well above market expectations of a 2.8% gain and accelerating from a 1.8% increase in the previous month. The latest figure also marked the fastest growth in retail activity since April 2025, mainly driven by higher sales of automotive fuel (7.3% vs 4.4% in December 2025) and sales via mail and internet (18.7% vs 3.7%). In the non-food sector, turnover also increased faster (7.8% vs 2.1%), particularly for culture, sports and recreation (9.1% vs -2.1%), cosmetics and toiletries (8.5% vs 8.2%), and clothing and footwear (6.9% vs 0.9%). On the other hand, sales declined in specialized stores with household products (-3% vs -0.3%), while growth softened for food, beverages and tobacco (0.3% vs 0.7%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity increased by 1% in January, marking the sharpest rise since April 2025 and rebounding from a 0.1% fall in the preceding period.