Retail sales in Switzerland stalled year-on-year in May 2025, widely missing market expectations of a 0.8% increase and following a downwardly revised 0.9% rise in the previous month. The flat reading was mainly due to a decline in sales of food, beverages, and tobacco (-1.0% vs 0.5% in April), as well as a smaller increase in non-food products (1.0% vs 1.5%). Within non-food categories, sales growth slowed notably for other goods (0.5% vs 2.1%), while trade declined for cultural and recreation goods (-3.6% vs -1.3%) and via stalls and markets (-0.3% vs 1.4%). On the other hand, activity at service stations continued to rise (4.1% vs 3.3%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade declined by 0.6% in May, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline and extending the drop from a downwardly revised 0.2% fall in the preceding period.