In February 2026, the performance of the commercial sector in Mexico had mixed results, according to the Monthly Survey on Commercial Enterprises (EMEC), which revealed a monthly decrease and an annual increase in the income of wholesale and retail businesses.
According to the survey, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) , income from the supply of goods and services in wholesale trade showed a monthly drop of 1.5 percent .
The number of people employed in this sector increased by 0.5%, while average wages increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis in the second month of the year.
Meanwhile, retail trade saw a 0.9% month-on-month decline in revenue . The workforce remained unchanged, and average real wages fell by 0.3% month-on-month.
In their annual report, wholesale businesses saw a 0.1% increase in total revenue. Furthermore, they experienced no change in their workforce and reported a 0.7% increase in average real wages.
Retail trade saw a 3.2% increase in revenue from the supply of goods and services; employment rose by 0.9% and average real wages grew by 6.4% year-on-year.
In February of this year, most wholesale activity sectors and subsectors showed negative figures compared to February 2025 in their revenues.
Trucks and new parts and accessories for automobiles, vans, and trucks saw the largest decline, with a 10.9% year-on-year decrease. This was followed by wholesale trade intermediation, with a 7.6% year-on-year decline.
Conversely, the sectors and subsectors with the highest annual income in retail trade were textiles, costume jewelry, clothing accessories and footwear with an annual increase of 14.8%; and stationery, leisure and other personal items with an annual increase of 13.2%.
The mixed scenario of the country’s commercial sector occurs in a volatile inflationary context, which although it registered a slight decrease in the first half of April 2026, continues to put pressure on various basic products, which affects consumer confidence, who have had to change their habits by buying lower-cost supplies or reducing expenses.
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