Fashion pulse: Spain - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

Spanish headline inflation on the national consumer price index (CPI) rose to 4.3 percent year-on-year in August 2026 from 3.6 percent in July, according to Spain's national statistics office INE. Transport prices rose 9.5 percent YoY, which INE described as the highest rate since August 2022, while core inflation eased to 2.9 percent. INE's harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), the EU-comparable measure, rose to 4.6 percent.

Clothing and footwear prices fell 2.1 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, after a 2.2 percent decline in July, according to INE. Clothing prices fell 2.9 percent for a second month and footwear prices fell 0.4 percent.

On the HICP, published by INE and by the European Union statistics office Eurostat, clothing and footwear prices rose 2.3 percent YoY in August, in the opposite direction to the national CPI figure of minus 2.1 percent. The two indices are compiled with different methodologies.

Retail sales (August, preliminary)

Spanish retail sales excluding motor vehicles fell 0.4 percent YoY in real terms in August after adjustment for seasonal and calendar effects, according to preliminary INE data. On the same preliminary basis, sales at specialised stores selling other goods, a category that includes clothing, footwear, jewellery and pharmacies, rose 0.9 percent in real terms, while mail order and internet sales rose 7.2 percent in real terms.

Spanish fashion trade association Acotex reported like-for-like fashion retail sales up 1.3 percent YoY in August among its sample of retailers, after a 1.5 percent rise in July. That brought Acotex's year-to-date increase to 2.11 percent.

Tourism (August)

Spain received 12.26 million international tourists in August, 9.2 percent more than a year earlier, according to INE, after a 4.6 percent rise in July. Arrivals in the first eight months of the year reached 70.36 million, up 5.4 percent.

Macro context (August)

The European Commission's consumer confidence indicator for Spain stood at minus 4.5 in August, little changed from minus 4.6 in July, according to Eurostat data. The Spanish unemployment rate held at 10.0 percent in August, 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

Spanish clothing and footwear prices fell 2.1 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, against headline inflation of 4.3 percent, although the HICP reading for the category differs. INE's preliminary retail sales excluding motor vehicles fell 0.4 percent in real terms in August, while Acotex reported like-for-like fashion retail sales up 1.3 percent YoY. Tourist arrivals rose 9.2 percent YoY.

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.