Retail trade in the Canary Islands continues to show solid performance. In March 2025, the annual variation rate of the general retail trade index at constant prices —which eliminates the effect of price changes— provisionally stood at 3.9%, slightly above the national average of 3.7%.
This places the Canary Islands ninth in the national ranking of autonomous communities. The strongest growth was recorded in the Basque Country (6.8%), Madrid (6.4%), and Murcia (5.9%), while the lowest rates were seen in Asturias (-0.5%), Extremadura (0.0%), and the Balearic Islands (1.4%).
Looking at sales performance by category in the Canary Islands, food sales increased by 5.3%, while sales in other categories rose by 4.2%.
Employment in the Canary Islands’ retail sector also saw a significant boost, with a 2.6% year-on-year increase, making the archipelago the second-highest region in employment growth for the sector. Navarra led with 2.8%, followed by the Canary Islands (2.6%), and then the Balearic Islands and Castilla–La Mancha, both at 2.5%. At the other end of the scale, Asturias (-0.4%), Extremadura (-0.3%), Ceuta (0.0%), and Melilla (0.0%) showed the weakest employment trends.
These figures highlight the strong performance of the retail sector in the Canary Islands, both in terms of sales and job creation, reinforcing its role as a key economic driver for the region.
source: ISTAC