Malaysia's non-seasonally adjusted retail trade volume index rose 4.1% from a year earlier to 193.5 points in July 2026, according to provisional figures from DOSM. The same index fell 0.8% compared with June.
Retail activity outside stores, stalls and markets recorded annual volume growth of 7.6%. Sales of automotive fuel through specialised stores grew 6.9% in volume, while retail sales through stalls and markets increased 6.8%.
Two comparisons, two different questions
The annual increase compares July with the same month a year earlier. The monthly decline compares it with June. They can both be true and should not be combined into a single claim that retail is simply growing or shrinking.
The volume index is also different from the ringgit value of sales. This brief does not use a volume-growth percentage as if it were sales-value growth, nor does it treat one month’s change as evidence of a sustained trend.
For retailers and suppliers, the main reading is that activity remained above its year-earlier level while easing on the immediate monthly comparison. The full distribution of subsector results is needed to assess a particular retail format.
Because these figures are not seasonally adjusted, the monthly comparison should not be presented as a seasonally adjusted change in underlying demand.
