Cyprus Trade Sector Achieves Robust Growth In 2023 Amid Pricing Pressures

Strong Overall Expansion

The Cyprus trade sector demonstrated notable resilience and growth in 2023, as evidenced by the latest wholesale and retail trade survey released by the state statistical service. Total turnover increased by 5.7 percent, rising to €19.34 billion from €18.31 billion in the previous year, demonstrating the sector’s ability to maintain momentum despite external challenges.

Differentiated Divisional Performance

At the divisional level, the most dynamic performance was observed in wholesale and retail trade combined with the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which experienced a striking 25.4 percent increase in turnover, totaling €1.53 billion. While wholesale trade itself registered a modest rise of 0.7 percent to €9.83 billion, the retail segment outperformed expectations with a robust 9.0 percent growth, reaching €7.98 billion in turnover.

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Furthermore, production value across the broader trade sector increased by 2.7 percent, reaching €5.41 billion. However, in a landscape impacted by volatile fuel pricing, value added at current prices experienced a slight contraction of 2.2 percent, falling from €3.49 billion to €3.42 billion, reflecting the nuanced challenges within the market.

Value Added and Employment Trends

Breaking down the value added, the combined wholesale and retail trade alongside vehicle repair saw a robust 19.3 percent surge to €314.30 million, while wholesale trade alone registered a significant decline of 13.4 percent, dropping to €1.75 billion. Conversely, retail trade demonstrated recovery and strength with an 11.6 percent increase in value added, rising to €1.36 billion.

Employment within the sector also showed positive momentum, expanding by 2.1 percent to 77,500 employees in 2023. Notably, the distribution of jobs reflected a balanced structure across the contributing segments, with 9,600 positions in wholesale and retail trade combined with motor vehicle repair, 26,500 in wholesale trade, and 41,400 in retail trade.

Methodological Insights

This comprehensive survey, encompassing 2,285 enterprises, defines turnover as the total income from ordinary business operations after accounting for discounts and rebates. Production value is determined by the sum of other income and stock variations added to turnover, less the cost of goods purchased for resale, while value added is computed by subtracting production, administrative, and rental expenses from production value. Employment figures encapsulate both salaried workers and the self-employed.

Conclusion

The insights from the 2023 survey underline Cyprus’s ability to navigate market pressures and achieve growth. The nuanced performance across divisions highlights both opportunities and challenges in an evolving economic landscape, emphasizing the importance of strategic adjustments as key trends continue to evolve in the trade sector.

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

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 22, 2026

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.

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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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