Turnover in retail trade, August 2026
Volume of retail trade increased in August 2026
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-09-30 8.00
The volume of retail trade increased by 0.8 percent in August 2026 compared with July 2026 in constant prices, calendar- and seasonally adjusted figures. Compared with August 2025, the volume of retail trade increased by 6.9 percent in constant prices and calendar-adjusted figures.
In brief
Growth rates in retail trade
| Industry/industry group (NACE code) | Growth rate compared with the previous month, percent [1] | Growth rate compared with the same month of the previous year, percent [2] |
|---|---|---|
| Retail trade excl. fuel (47 excl. 47.3) | 0.8 | 6.9 |
| Trade in consumables excl. state-owned liquor stores (47.11+47.2 excl. 47.25) | 0.2 | 5.6 |
| Trade in durables (47.19 + 47.4-47.9) | 0.9 | 8.4 |
Sub-industries with the largest changes compared with previous month
(Calendar- and seasonally adjusted figures in contant prices)
- Medical and cosmetics sales (NACE 47.74-75) increased by 6.4 percent
- Optical goods (NACE 47.781) decreased by 4.9 percent
Sub-industries with the largest changes compared with the same month last year
(Calendar adjusted figures in contant prices)
- Medical and cosmetics sales (NACE 47.74-75) increased by 27.8 percent
- Information and communication equipment (NACE 47.4) increased by 13.4 percent
The volume of retail trade revised in July 2026
The figures for August are preliminary. Since the previous publication, the calendar- and seasonally adjusted development in contant prices in July 2026 compared with June 2026 has been revised upwards by 0.1 percentage points to -0.1 percent. The calendar adjusted development in contant prices in July 2026 compared with July 2025 has been revised upwards by 0.3 percentage points to 6.5 percent.
Change compared to the previous month
Change compared to the same month last year
Changes in the statistics
New method for collecting turnover data in service industries
From April 2026, monthly calculated turnover data based on companies’ VAT returns to the Swedish Tax Agency (hereafter referred to as VAT data) will be used for small and medium-sized enterprises in the service industries (SNI 36–96). This change is part of Statistics Sweden’s (SCB) efforts to streamline statistical production, increase the use of administrative data, and reduce the reporting burden for businesses. In total, it is estimated that nearly 4,000 companies in the service industries will no longer need to report turnover data each month.
For larger companies, turnover data will continue to be collected directly from the businesses. The reason is that VAT data in these cases often does not provide a sufficiently accurate representation of companies’ turnover.
VAT data will not be used in the industries SNI 68 (real estate activities), 85–88 (education and health and social care), and 92 (gambling and betting). The reason is that the consistency between VAT data and actual turnover is insufficient, partly because some activities in these industries are exempt from VAT.
Consequences for the published statistics
The change is expected to lead to improved quality in the estimates of turnover and production within the service industries. An important effect of using VAT data is that sampling error decreases, since the statistics are based on a full enumeration of all companies in the sampling frame.
At the same time, problems with extreme values (outliers) are expected to largely disappear, as the expansion factors will be close to one. This contributes to more stable estimates.
However, there is a potential risk that other types of errors, so-called non-sampling errors, may become more significant than before.
Definitions and explanations
Retail trade here refers to NACE 47 excluding 47.3.
Trade in consumables (excluding Systembolaget) here refers to NACE 47.11 and 47.2. excluding 47.25.
Trade in durables here refers to NACE 47.19 and 47.4–47.9.
Revisions
When the Retail Trade Index is published for a new month, the indices for previous months are also revised if new information has been added. Usually, the material is revised between two and four months backwards, depending on where in the quarter the reference month is located. In connection with the publication of the first and second month in a quarter, the entire previous quarter is revised. The index series, adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects and trend estimates, are always revised from May 1991 and forward. Information about revisions over a longer historical period and major revisions are published in the Statistical Database (see the link below).
In connection with the publication of reference month July 2026, a major revision was made for June 2026 in industry for petrol stations (NACE 47.3), due to a previously identified technical error in the imputation of non-response data, which has now been corrected.
Changes for users retrieving information with the help of an API
In the fall of 2025, PxWebApi v1 was replaced by PxWebApi v2. PxWebApi v1 will remain up and running until, 31 December 2026, but will after that no longer be functional. For more information and instructions on conversion, please see PxWebApi v2