Retail sales in Cyprus increased 7.8% year-on-year in August 2026, easing from 8.9% growth in July. Growth eased across several categories, including information and communication equipment (24.8% vs 25.6%), other household equipment (12.0% vs 16.9%), cultural and recreation goods (12.7% vs 13.2%), flowers, plants, watches, jewellery, optical goods and second-hand goods (1.3% vs 3.7%), and food, beverages and tobacco in non-specialised stores (5.1% vs 6.0%). Meanwhile, growth increased for clothing and footwear (16.7% vs 16.4%) and pharmaceuticals, orthopedic goods and cosmetics (7.1% vs 6.5%). Sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores also improved slightly, although remaining negative (-1.0% vs -0.9%). In contrast, automotive fuel sales fell (-1.5% vs 3.4%) and retail sales not in stores declined sharply (-7.0% vs 17.0%). From January to August, retail sales excluding automotive fuel increased 6.4% compared with the same period a year earlier.