Mexico retail sales rise 1.2% in August, their best month in two years, INEGI says
Retail revenue grew 3.2% from August 2025 and real wages for retail workers rose 5.2%. Wholesale gained 0.3% month over month.
Real revenue in Mexico's retail sector grew 1.2% in August 2026 from July, according to the Monthly Survey of Commercial Enterprises (EMEC) released Wednesday, Oct. 21, by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). It was the largest monthly gain in 25 months; only July 2024 posted a faster pace.
Compared with August 2025, retail sales rose 3.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The key figures
According to INEGI, using seasonally adjusted data:
| Indicator | Retail (monthly) | Retail (annual) | Wholesale (monthly) | Wholesale (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real revenue | +1.2% | +3.2% | +0.3% | +6.3% |
| Employment | +0.2% | +0.9% | +0.3% | -0.2% |
| Average real pay | -0.8% | +5.2% | -1.0% | +1.0% |
What drove the increase
Eight of the nine retail branches grew during the month. Distance sales (internet, catalogs and TV) stood out, rebounding more than 20% after a drop of similar size in July. Textiles and clothing, hardware and building materials, groceries and beverages, and vehicles and fuel also gained. Only furniture and used goods declined.
What it means for Cancún
After tourism, retail is one of Cancún's main sources of jobs: supermarkets, shopping malls, auto parts and hardware stores, and thousands of neighborhood shops. Rising sales and real pay for retail workers 5.2% above a year ago — meaning it grew faster than inflation — are a positive sign for those households. Still, that same real pay fell 0.8% from July to August, so the improvement is not steady month to month.
The figures are national: this bulletin does not include a number for Quintana Roo.
How to use this information
- If you run a business, compare your August sales with August 2025. If you grew less than 3%, you trailed the national retail average.
- If you shop online, the boom in distance sales also brings more scams. Buy from sites with verifiable contact information and, if you have a problem with a seller, contact the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) at profeco.gob.mx or its consumer hotline, 55 5568 8722.
- To compare prices before grocery shopping, Profeco publishes its Quién es Quién en los Precios tool on its official website.
- Check the source. INEGI bulletins are available at inegi.org.mx, in the press room section.
The next key figure for household budgets is inflation for the first half of October, which INEGI has scheduled for this week.
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