Fashion pulse: Belgium - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

Belgian headline inflation on the national consumer price index (CPI) rose to 3.97 percent year-on-year in August 2026 from 3.56 percent in July, according to Belgium's national statistics office StatBel. Clothing and footwear prices rose 2.97 percent YoY, up from 1.21 percent in July, and remained below headline inflation.

Within the basket, according to StatBel, clothing prices rose 3.91 percent YoY while footwear prices fell 0.93 percent. Menswear rose 4.57 percent and womenswear 3.93 percent, while infantswear fell 2.51 percent. Footwear prices fell 1.73 percent for men, 0.10 percent for women and 2.05 percent for infants and children.

On the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) published by the European Union statistics office Eurostat, Belgian clothing and footwear prices rose 2.7 percent YoY in August and headline inflation was 4.2 percent.

Retail sales (July)

StatBel retail data are available up to July. Fashion retail volume, covering textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods, rose 5.43 percent YoY in real terms in July, the first year-on-year increase since February, according to calendar-adjusted StatBel data. Nominal fashion retail turnover rose 2.85 percent YoY in July.

Total Belgian retail volume rose 0.59 percent YoY in real terms in July, while nominal turnover rose 3.03 percent. Real turnover for mail order and internet retail rose 0.68 percent, while nominal turnover fell 0.54 percent.

Macro context (August)

The European Commission's harmonised consumer confidence indicator for Belgium eased to minus 16.3 in August from minus 15.9 in July, according to the Commission's data published by Eurostat. The Belgian unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in August from 6.0 percent in July, according to Eurostat.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The European Central Bank (ECB) left the deposit facility rate unchanged at 2.25 percent in August. The euro strengthened 1.54 percent against the dollar in August, to a monthly mean of 1.1593 dollars from 1.1417 dollars in July, according to the ECB. Compared with August 2025, the euro was 0.33 percent weaker, a marginal change in the euro cost of dollar-invoiced goods.

The bottom line

Belgian clothing and footwear prices rose 2.97 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, below headline inflation of 3.97 percent, with menswear up 4.57 percent and footwear down 0.93 percent. The latest StatBel retail data, for July, show fashion retail volume up 5.43 percent YoY in real terms and nominal turnover up 2.85 percent. The European Commission's harmonised consumer confidence indicator eased slightly to minus 16.3 in August.

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.