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Cyprus Retail Trade Expands in November 2025 Amid Robust Consumer Demand

Robust Trading Indices Reflect Strong Consumer Confidence

Cyprus experienced a marked expansion in its retail sector in November 2025, buoyed by resilient consumer demand across multiple categories. According to the Statistical Service, the Turnover Value Index for retail trade—excluding motor vehicles—climbed by 4.6% compared with November 2024, while the Turnover Volume Index surged by 7.6%.

Strong Growth Across Key Categories

When using 2021 as the base year, the aggregated value index reached 145.4, and the volume index attained 132.1. Over the January–November period, the sector recorded cumulative growth of 6.2% in value and 7.8% in volume compared to the same period in the previous year. In particular, specialised stores for food, beverages, and tobacco showed an impressive annual performance, with indices rising 17.4% for value and 22.5% for volume. Supermarkets also demonstrated steady progress, with a 5.3% increase in value and an 8% rise in volume.

Notable Advances in Apparel and Technology

Other segments, including clothing and footwear, posted solid gains—with value up by 4.8% and volume expanding 14.1%—while information and communication equipment saw a notable growth of 6.0% in value and 15.2% in volume. Moderately expanding sectors included household equipment and construction materials, which recorded growth of 4.3% in value and 6.2% in volume.

Sectoral Challenges and Declines

Certain segments, however, faced downward pressure. Cultural and recreation goods declined slightly, with a 1.3% drop in value accompanied by a 1.5% slip in volume. Similarly, retail sales not in stores, including online and mail-order trade, contracted sharply by 13.7% in value and 12% in volume—although they remained positive on a year-to-date basis. Automotive fuel sales also saw a reduction, with value decreasing by 5.8% and volume by 3.6%.

Aggregate Analysis and Methodological Insights

Broader aggregates excluding automotive fuel reveal that retail trade increased by 5.6% in value and 8.7% in volume. Edible goods recorded rises of 7.1% in value and 10.1% in volume, while non-edible goods grew 4.0% in value and 7.5% in volume. Cystat clarified that the Turnover Value Index is calculated at current prices, whereas the Turnover Volume Index is derived at constant prices using the Consumer Price Index as a deflator.

Meta’s Muse Is Outpacing ChatGPT In Early Mobile Adoption, New Data Suggests

Meta’s new AI app, Muse, may be emerging as one of the company’s strongest consumer launches to date. Fresh estimates from market intelligence firm Apptopia suggest the app has outperformed ChatGPT in early mobile traction, at least in the U.S. and Canada.

According to Apptopia, Muse recorded more downloads in its first 12 days on the market than ChatGPT did during the comparable period after its mobile debut. The comparison, limited to the U.S. and Canada, puts Muse’s iOS downloads at 1.8 million versus 1.3 million for ChatGPT over the same initial window.

A Strong Early Start Across Platforms

In total, Muse has reached 2.8 million global installs in its first 12 days, according to the firm. The app’s momentum also appears to be holding. After debuting at No. 2 on the U.S. App Store, Muse has since climbed to No. 1, surpassing ChatGPT, according to reporting from Business Insider. Appfigures had previously estimated that Muse crossed 1 million downloads shortly after launch.

That early rise matters because app-store performance in the first days after launch often signals whether a product can sustain consumer attention beyond initial curiosity. In Meta’s case, the data suggests Muse is not simply benefiting from novelty; it is gaining ground quickly enough to challenge the category leader.

Daily Users Show Similar Momentum

Apptopia’s estimates point to another favorable comparison for Meta: daily usage. In the U.S. alone, Muse is said to have 642,000 daily active users, well above the 231,000 ChatGPT had at the same stage of its mobile rollout.

To make the comparison fairer, Apptopia also narrowed the analysis to iOS only, since ChatGPT launched on iPhone before expanding more broadly. Even under that tighter lens, Muse still comes out ahead, with 359,000 daily active users on iOS compared with ChatGPT’s earlier figure.

Why Meta Has An Advantage

Third-party estimates are not the same as internal company data, and Apptopia cannot see Meta’s proprietary numbers. Still, even directional data suggests Muse may be on track to become a meaningful consumer product for Meta.

That possibility is strengthened by Meta’s distribution advantage. The company has already demonstrated how powerful its ecosystem can be with Threads, which surpassed 500 million users after heavy promotion across Instagram and Facebook. Muse is likely to receive a similar boost, especially because it can connect across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Apptopia does not track Meta’s internal promotion strategy, but its data indicates that more than 95% of Muse users are also Facebook users, while 63% are Instagram users. That overlap underscores how effectively Meta can move users across its products when it chooses to prioritize a launch.

The Strategic Test For Meta

For Meta, the early signal from Muse is less about one app’s download count than about whether the company can turn its scale into durable AI adoption. The first test is attention. The harder one is retention.

If Muse can convert early downloads into habitual use, Meta may have found a new front door into its AI ambitions. If not, the app risks becoming another example of how easily mobile hype can spike before settling back down.

Meta, which was asked for comment, has not yet released public figures on Muse’s early adoption.

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