FX.co ★ Turkey Retail Sales Growth at 8-Month Low

In March 2025, Turkey experienced a 9.2% increase in retail sales compared to the same month the previous year. This represents a decline in growth from February's 12.2% rise, marking the slowest annual increase since July 2024. The deceleration was evident across categories, with sales of food, beverages, and tobacco growing by 8%, down from 13.4% in February, and non-food product sales rising by 10.6%, compared to 14% previously. Within the non-food sector, significant slowdowns were observed in the sales of computers, peripheral units and software; books, which increased by 16.8% compared to 29.9% in February; pharmaceutical goods, up 14.2% from 17.7%; and online/mail-order sales, which grew 3%, down from 6.9%. Conversely, automotive fuel sales reversed their decline, increasing by 4.1% after a 0.3% drop in February. On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, retail sales decreased by 1.4%, registering the first monthly downturn since May 2024, following a 1.2% rise in February.