Fashion pulse: Poland - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

Clothing and footwear prices in Poland fell 2.9 percent year-on-year in August 2026, according to Poland's national statistics office GUS, after a 3.6 percent decline in July. Headline consumer price inflation rose to 3.4 percent from 3.0 percent, so clothing and footwear prices ran 6.3 percentage points below the headline rate and recorded the largest annual decline among the 13 main expenditure groups. On the month, clothing and footwear prices fell 0.7 percent, while overall consumer prices rose 0.3 percent.

Clothing prices fell 2.8 percent YoY in August and footwear prices 3.2 percent, according to GUS. Within clothing, prices of menswear fell 1.7 percent, womenswear 3.5 percent and garments for infants 9.0 percent.

Retail sales (August, preliminary)

Retail sales of textiles, clothing and footwear at constant prices fell 2.7 percent YoY in August, after a 1.7 percent decline in July, according to preliminary GUS data. Among the product groups with published data, textiles, clothing and footwear was the only one with lower sales than a year earlier, according to GUS. At current prices, the group's sales were 5.4 percent lower.

Total retail sales at constant prices rose 3.8 percent YoY in August, according to GUS. Internet sales of textiles, clothing and footwear fell 2.2 percent YoY at current prices and accounted for 23.5 percent of the group's sales, up from 22.7 percent a year earlier.

Macro context (August)

The current consumer confidence indicator of GUS fell to minus 11.3 in August from minus 10.2 in July, with the assessment of the current possibility of making major purchases down to minus 4.9 from minus 1.6. The leading consumer confidence indicator eased to minus 7.6 from minus 7.3. The seasonally adjusted business climate indicator for retail trade stood at plus 0.1, compared with plus 0.7 in July, according to GUS.

Unemployment was 3.4 percent in August, seasonally adjusted and unchanged from July, according to preliminary data from the European Union statistics office Eurostat.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The reference rate of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) remained at 3.75 percent throughout August, a month in which its Monetary Policy Council held no decision-making meeting. The euro averaged 4.3108 zloty in August, compared with 4.3181 zloty in July, according to the NBP, leaving the zloty broadly stable. The dollar averaged 3.7191 zloty, down from 3.7797 zloty in July, a 1.6 percent rise in the value of the zloty, though the zloty was 1.4 percent weaker against the dollar than in August 2025.

The bottom line

Polish clothing and footwear prices fell 2.9 percent YoY in August, 6.3 percentage points below headline inflation of 3.4 percent. Preliminary GUS data show constant-price sales of textiles, clothing and footwear down 2.7 percent YoY, while total retail sales rose 3.8 percent. Consumer confidence weakened to minus 11.3, with the assessment of major purchases falling to minus 4.9.

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.