Fashion pulse: Spain - March 2026

Consumer prices (March)

Fashion prices in Spain rose 2.6 percent year-on-year in March, slightly above the overall inflation rate, according to Spain’s national statistics office INE. Footwear prices increased 3.3 percent while clothing rose 2.2 percent. The increase marks a sharp reversal from January and February, when clothing and footwear prices were still declining YoY due to the extended winter sales period. March typically sees a return to full-price selling as spring collections arrive.

Retail sales (February)

Specialised retail stores — a category that includes clothing, footwear, pharmacies and jewellery — grew 3.7 percent in real terms in February, outperforming total retail which rose 2.0 percent, according to INE. Online retail also grew 3.7 percent in real terms. Spanish fashion trade association Acotex reported that fashion, textile and footwear sales grew just 0.4 percent in January, following a full-year decline of 1.1 percent in 2025. The gap between the broader INE category and the Acotex fashion-specific figure suggests clothing is underperforming other specialised stores such as pharmacies and jewellers within the same INE classification. Fashion and apparel accounted for 29.5 percent of all e-commerce spending in Spain in 2025, according to the Comision Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), making it the largest online retail category. Tourism (February) Spain welcomed 5.57 million inbound tourists in February, up 2.8 percent YoY, according to INE. Tourism is a significant driver of fashion retail in Madrid, Barcelona and other major cities. Year-to-date arrivals reached 10.7 million.

Macro context (March)

Consumer confidence declined to minus 2.8 in March from minus 1.5 in February, according to the European Union statistics office Eurostat. Unemployment stood at 9.8 percent in February according to Eurostat, continuing a gradual improvement from over 10 percent a year ago. Monthly Social Security affiliation data, published by Spain’s Seguridad Social, provides an additional real-time proxy for employment trends by retail sector. The euro averaged 1.156 dollars according to the European Central Bank (ECB), up 7.0 percent YoY, reducing import costs for Spanish retailers sourcing from dollar-denominated markets. Detailed monthly trade data from Spain’s DataComex portal, operated by the Ministry of Commerce, allows tracking of clothing and textile imports by country of origin and HS tariff code.

The bottom line: Spanish fashion retail shows cautious momentum — the Acotex barometer barely positive at plus 0.4 percent, while the broader specialised retail category grew 3.7 percent. Rising tourism arrivals provide a demand tailwind, but declining consumer confidence at minus 2.8 is a concern heading into the spring season. The stronger euro offers some margin relief on imports, though the sector’s full-year 2025 decline of minus 1.1 percent suggests the recovery remains fragile.

Note: The figures in this article are based on different reporting periods. Some indicators are already available for March, while others are reported with a time lag due to survey and publication cycles. This is common practice in official statistics and nevertheless allows for a reliable assessment of current market trends.