Fashion pulse: Austria - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

Clothing and footwear prices in Austria fell 1.2 percent year-on-year in August 2026, according to the national consumer price index (VPI) of Statistics Austria, after a 0.7 percent decline in July. Headline VPI inflation rose to 3.2 percent from 2.8 percent, so clothing and footwear prices ran 4.4 percentage points below the headline rate and had the lowest annual rate of the 13 main expenditure groups. On the month, clothing and footwear prices rose 0.9 percent.

On the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), published by Eurostat, headline inflation was 2.9 percent, with clothing prices down 0.7 percent YoY and footwear prices down 1.7 percent. Within the HICP, prices of garments for men and boys fell 1.8 percent and of garments for women and girls 0.6 percent. Footwear for children fell 6.0 percent, footwear for men 2.9 percent, while footwear for women rose 0.4 percent.

Retail sales (July and August)

Total retail sales volume in Austria rose 0.2 percent YoY in August, calendar adjusted, according to preliminary Eurostat data, and fell 0.9 percent from July on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Sales volume in other specialised retail stores (NACE 47.7), a group that includes clothing and footwear stores alongside pharmacies, cosmetics and other specialist retailers, rose 1.3 percent YoY in July, calendar adjusted, according to Eurostat. July is the latest month published for this group.

Consumer sentiment (August)

The European Commission's consumer confidence indicator for Austria rose to minus 18.2 in August from minus 19.2 in July, seasonally adjusted, according to data published by Eurostat. The indicator was below its August 2025 reading of minus 14.1.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The European Central Bank's deposit facility rate remained at 2.25 percent throughout August, a month without a monetary policy meeting. The euro averaged 1.1593 dollars in August, up from 1.1417 dollars in July, according to the ECB, a 1.5 percent rise in the value of the euro. Compared with August 2025, when it averaged 1.1631 dollars, the euro was 0.3 percent weaker against the dollar.

The bottom line

Austrian clothing and footwear prices fell 1.2 percent YoY in August on the national VPI, 4.4 percentage points below headline inflation of 3.2 percent and the lowest rate of any main expenditure group. Total retail sales volume rose 0.2 percent YoY in preliminary calendar-adjusted Eurostat data, while specialist non-food retail, which includes clothing stores, grew 1.3 percent in July. Consumer confidence improved slightly to minus 18.2 but remained weaker than a year earlier.

Note: this article combines the most recent official data available at the time of writing. Reporting lags differ by indicator and country, so not all figures refer to the same month. Each data point is labelled with its reference period.