Statistics Poland’s 22 September release said retail sales at constant prices in Poland rose 3.8% in August 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier. The annual increase in August 2025 had been 3.1%. Sales nevertheless declined 0.3% from July. The annual comparison therefore showed growth while the monthly comparison recorded a small decrease.

Sales increased 3.4% year on year over January-August, compared with a 3.6% rise in the same period of 2025. In seasonally adjusted data, August sales were 4.6% above the year-earlier level and 1.0% higher than in July. The agency noted that cumulative data incorporate corrections made by reporting entities. The period-to-date rate can therefore reflect adjustments and aggregation beyond the value reported for a single month.

The constant-price measure is designed to separate changes in sales volume from price rises, so the 3.8% rate is not nominal turnover growth. The seasonally adjusted monthly comparison also uses a different treatment from the unadjusted month-to-month change. The series tracks activity covered by the retail-sales indicator rather than all household spending. August offers one official signal about consumer demand and is best read alongside other indicators.