Monthly survey on retail trade - 2026-05
Published on 24th of June 2026
Retail sales eased in May
Notice to users:
The Banque de France's monthly retail sales survey will be discontinued from next month. This publication, covering data for May 2026, is therefore the final release in the series.
Monitoring of household goods consumption will continue through INSEE's Informations rapides publication. Historical data from the Banque de France survey will remain available on the Banque de France website and on Webstat.
The Banque de France's monthly retail sales survey will be discontinued from next month. This publication, covering data for May 2026, is therefore the final release in the series.
Monitoring of household goods consumption will continue through INSEE's Informations rapides publication. Historical data from the Banque de France survey will remain available on the Banque de France website and on Webstat.
Note: The change in retail sales does not reflect the change in total household consumption as the latter includes other items such as health care, education and rents.
Retail sales volumes fell by 0.6% in May (seasonally and working-day adjusted), following a 0.3% increase in April. The decline reflected weaker sales of both manufactured goods (-0.3%, after +0.8%) and food products (-1.0%, after -0.3%).
Within manufactured goods, developments were mixed. Sales of games and toys (+4.2%, after -2.6%) and press and stationery products (+3.2%, after -3.3%) rebounded. By contrast, furniture sales fell sharply (-7.2%, after +0.9%), while sales of bicycles and motorcycles declined (-4.8%, after +0.1%).
Across distribution channels, sales decreased in hypermarkets (-0.8%, after +0.4%), supermarkets (-0.6%, after +0.7%), department stores (-1.3%, after 0.0%) and small retailers (-0.4%, after -1.8%).
Looking through monthly volatility, retail sales volumes were 0.5% higher over the three months to May than in the previous three-month period. Growth was broad-based, with both food products and manufactured goods increasing by 0.5%.
Within manufactured goods, developments were mixed. Sales of games and toys (+4.2%, after -2.6%) and press and stationery products (+3.2%, after -3.3%) rebounded. By contrast, furniture sales fell sharply (-7.2%, after +0.9%), while sales of bicycles and motorcycles declined (-4.8%, after +0.1%).
Across distribution channels, sales decreased in hypermarkets (-0.8%, after +0.4%), supermarkets (-0.6%, after +0.7%), department stores (-1.3%, after 0.0%) and small retailers (-0.4%, after -1.8%).
Looking through monthly volatility, retail sales volumes were 0.5% higher over the three months to May than in the previous three-month period. Growth was broad-based, with both food products and manufactured goods increasing by 0.5%.
Total manufactured goods and food sales
Month-on-month change (%) - Seasonally and working-day adjusted volumes
Notes:
1) Sectors are classified according to the relative weight of the products included in the total aggregate of retail trade (weights are given on the right scale).
2) The aggregated and by sub-sector series are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis. Total and manufactured products series are reconstituted by aggregating the SA-WDA series of the sub-components.
3) SA-WDA: Seasonally and working-day adjusted
1) Sectors are classified according to the relative weight of the products included in the total aggregate of retail trade (weights are given on the right scale).
2) The aggregated and by sub-sector series are seasonally adjusted on an individual basis. Total and manufactured products series are reconstituted by aggregating the SA-WDA series of the sub-components.
3) SA-WDA: Seasonally and working-day adjusted
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_Info_retail-trade_202605.pdf
Additional links
Breakdown by industrial product and outlet category - May 2026
Updated on the 23rd of June 2026