Retail sales in the Czech Republic increased by 4.1% year-on-year in September 2026, slowing slightly from a 4.3% rise in August and falling short of market expectations of a 4.7% increase. Growth in sales of non-food goods eased to 7.3% from 7.6%, with a notable deceleration in information and communication equipment (1.9% vs 6.6%), clothing, footwear and leather products (6.6% vs 10.1%), and online and mail-order trade (14.5% vs 16.4%). Even so, online and mail-order retailers, along with non-specialized stores focused on food, remained the main drivers of overall retail growth. Within the non-food segment, sales rose across all categories, with pharmaceutical and medical products providing the strongest contribution. In contrast, the decline in automotive fuel sales deepened (-4.5% vs -2.2%), while growth in food, beverages and tobacco inched up (2.7% vs 2.6%). On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, retail sales excluding motor vehicles edged up 0.1% in September, after a 0.2% increase in August.