Eurozone Retail Sales Decline in December, Indicating Fragile Consumer Spending Recovery

Eurozone retail sales experienced a sharper-than-expected decline in December, highlighting the fragile recovery of consumer spending anticipated to support the economy by 2026. According to Jin10, data released by the European Union's statistics agency on Thursday showed a 0.5% month-on-month decrease in retail sales volume for the final month of 2025, following a downward revision of November's data to a 0.1% increase. Non-food sales led the decline ahead of the key holiday season, while food and beverage sales saw a slight rise. France, Italy, and Spain reported month-on-month sales decreases, whereas Germany experienced a modest increase. Despite these figures, the European Commission's data released at the end of last month indicated an improvement in eurozone consumer confidence in January. Economists predict that this year's economic growth will be primarily driven by domestic demand, particularly household spending. The EU statistics agency also reported a 1.3% year-on-year increase in retail sales volume for December.