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Cyprus Retail Sector Sees Robust Growth In Turnover And Volume Indices In May 2025

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 3, 2025

The latest figures from Cyprus’ state statistical service underscore the resilience of the nation’s retail sector, with the Turnover Value Index rising by 8.4% and the Turnover Volume Index surging by 10.0% in May 2025 compared to the previous year. This performance across multiple retail segments signals positive momentum amid evolving market dynamics.

Segmented Growth Across Key Categories

Supermarkets, representing non-specialised food, beverage, and tobacco outlets, experienced a robust increase with a value index of 141.3—a 10.4% improvement from May 2024. In the realm of specialised food retailers, the sector fared even better, recording a value index of 150.5 with a 13.1% gain. Conversely, automotive fuel saw a contraction, with its value index dipping by 5.6% to 117.8.

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Diverse Performance In Electronics, Household Goods And More

Categories such as information and communication equipment and other household essentials including furniture, electrical appliances, and construction materials also demonstrated resilience. The former achieved a modest 1.4% increase to a value index of 107.9, while the latter surged by 11.2% to an index of 126.1. Clothing and footwear reported a notable value index of 145.1, up 8.4% year-on-year, reinforcing the adaptability of consumer spending across diverse segments.

Luxuries And Alternative Channels Outperform

Luxury items and second-hand goods, which include flowers, plants, jewellery, and optical goods, excelled with the highest value index at 201.6, marking a 10.9% rise. In addition, retail sales outside conventional stores experienced a significant boost, climbing 21.9% to a value index of 117.1. This underscores the burgeoning influence of online and alternative retail channels in the evolving market landscape.

Volume Index: A Testament To Strong Consumer Activity

Examining the volume indices further reinforces the narrative of a dynamic retail market. Supermarkets posted a volume index of 120.1 with a 9.2% increase, while specialised food outlets reached a volume index of 121.7, rising 6.3%. Notably, clothing and footwear achieved a volume index of 141.9, up by 14.7%, highlighting strong consumer engagement in this sector. Information and communication equipment, along with household items, exhibited healthy volume growth, underscoring robust consumer activity across the board.

Overall Outlook For The Retail Trade Landscape

When considering the retail market excluding automotive fuel, overall figures paint a picture of sustained growth—a value index of 136.8 (up 8.4%) and a volume index of 121.4 (up 10.0%). These comprehensive metrics reflect a retail environment that is both adaptive and resilient, providing critical insights for industry stakeholders and investors as Cyprus continues to navigate its economic evolution.

In summary, the varied performance across retail sub-sectors in Cyprus in May 2025 underscores a robust market trajectory, driven by adaptive consumer trends and strategic shifts toward digital and alternative retail formats. For business leaders and market analysts, these trends offer compelling evidence of the retail sector’s capacity to sustain growth amid dynamic economic conditions.

The Future Forbes Realty Global Properties

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.