FX.co ★ Taiwan Retail Sales Growth Eases in August

Taiwan’s retail sales rose 6.5% year-on-year in August 2026, easing from a revised 7.8% increase in July. The overall deceleration was driven by slower growth in several categories, including fuel and related products (6.5% vs 12.9% in July), motor vehicles, motorcycles and related parts and accessories (5.8% vs 12.6%), pharmaceutical and medical goods and cosmetics (4.5% vs 7.5%), general merchandise stores (6.4% vs 7.1%), information and communications equipment (10.9% vs 13.3%), cultural and recreation goods (1.6% vs 4.4%), and textiles and clothing (1.6% vs 3.8%).

In contrast, sales growth accelerated in food, beverages and tobacco (13.1% vs 6.5% in July), construction materials (12.7% vs 8.0%), electronic shopping and mail-order houses (8.5% vs 5.5%), household appliances and goods (5.5% vs 4.0%), and retail trade not in stores or stalls (5.3% vs 1.8%).

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales declined 0.5% in August, following a 0.6% drop in July.