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Cyprus Retail Sales Jump 9.8% In May As Consumer Spending Stays Strong

Cyprus’ retail sector continued to build momentum in May, with both sales values and volumes rising strongly, highlighting resilient consumer spending across a broad range of categories, according to data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Turnover Value And Volume Both Move Higher

The retail trade turnover value index increased 9.8% year on year in May, while the turnover volume index rose 7.5% compared with the same month in 2025. Together, the figures suggest that consumers not only spent more but also purchased greater volumes of goods across the retail sector.

Fuel And Household Goods Lead Value Growth

The strongest increase in turnover value came from automotive fuel, which climbed 20.9% compared with a year earlier.

Other household equipment, a category that includes building materials, carpets, furniture, electrical appliances and lighting, recorded the second-largest gain at 12%, reflecting continued demand for home-related purchases.

Educational and recreational goods, including books, stationery, sporting equipment and toys, also posted solid growth, with turnover value rising 10.1%.

Clothing, Technology And Household Equipment Drive Volume

Measured by sales volume, clothing and footwear delivered the strongest performance, advancing 19.4% year on year. Information and communication equipment followed with a 17.6% increase, while other household equipment recorded a 13.3% gain.

Not every segment shared in the broader upswing. Sales volumes of automotive fuel declined 3.8%, while flowers, plants, watches, jewellery, optical goods and second-hand items fell 2.1%.

Year-To-Date Growth Remains Positive

The positive trend extended across the first five months of the year. Between January and May, the retail turnover value index increased 7.1% compared with the same period of 2025, while the turnover volume index rose 5.9%.

Taken together, the latest figures indicate that Cyprus’ retail sector continues to benefit from resilient consumer demand. Although some categories remain under pressure, spending has remained broad-based across both essential goods and discretionary purchases, supporting steady growth in the market.

Relay Shuts Down As Its Founder Returns To Google To Shape The Future Of Chrome

AI workflow automation startup Relay is shutting down, with founder and CEO Jacob Bank returning to Google as vice president of product for Chrome. Some other Relay employees are also joining Google’s Chrome team.

Relay launched in 2021 with ambitions to challenge automation platforms such as Zapier. Its platform helped businesses automate repetitive work, including document creation, copyediting and project management.

According to Relay’s announcement, free users lost access on August 15, while paying customers will be able to use the service until September 14. The shutdown was first announced in July.

Relay Founder Returns To Google

Bank previously spent more than six years at Google. He joined the company in 2015 after Google acquired his scheduling startup Timeful, later working on products including Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Chat.

Now back at Google, Bank will lead Chrome’s product and developer relations teams. He said the role will focus on helping people use AI in Chrome while preserving their creativity and decision-making.

Bank described Chrome as a strong platform for working with AI agents and said he would share more about Google’s plans in the future.

Chrome Becomes A Bigger AI Platform

Bank’s return comes as Google continues expanding AI across its consumer products. Gemini is already integrated into Search and Chrome, where it can act as an in-browser assistant and support more agentic tasks.

The company’s AI push is also reaching a growing user base. Google recently said the Gemini app had surpassed 1 billion users.

For Relay, the shutdown marks the end of an attempt to build an AI-powered alternative to established workflow automation platforms. For Google, bringing Bank and members of his team into Chrome could strengthen its efforts to make AI agents a more central part of the browser experience.

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