Chute de 13,5 % des ventes au détail en Andorre en février 2026 en raison de la fermeture de la RN-20 française

Les ventes au détail en Andorre ont chuté de 13,5 % en février 2026 par rapport à l'année précédente, la fermeture de la route française RN-20 étant citée comme un facteur clé ayant perturbé les flux touristiques en provenance de France. ascended Data from the Department of Statistics show the downturn affected all product groups: food sales dropped 12.1%, other products 7.3%, and fuels saw the sharpest decline at 24.1%. At constant prices, excluding inflation effects, the volume of sales contracted even more, by 14.3% overall—food at 14.3%, other products at 9.6%, and fuels at 16.7%. Monthly figures also weakened, with a 13.7% drop from January. The RN-20, a main access route, was closed from 31 January to 9 March due to a landslide, limiting visitors for much of February and hitting commercial activity across sectors. Employment in retail mirrored the slowdown, decreasing 4.6% year-on-year, though the workforce structure remained stable: 58.8% women and 85.5% full-time contracts. Large retail outlets fared slightly better, with sales down 2.1% at current prices—food sales fell 5% while non-food rose 1.5%. At constant prices, the decline deepened to 4.7%, with food dropping 7.4% and non-food 0.9%. Compared to January, sales at these sites plunged 14.9%. Staffing here edged up 2.4% annually, with 64.2% women and over 91% full-time. This retail contraction coincides with broader first-quarter business data, where active establishments hit 14,028—a 5.2% annual rise adding 690 from Q1 2025, though down 0.2% or 23 from end-2025 due to 238 openings against 261 closures. The quarterly dip marks the first since 2018, when consistent growth began even through the 2020 pandemic. Professional services led with 3,430 businesses, followed by retail at 3,320 and information/communications at 1,373. Some 65% concentrated in Andorra la Vella, Escaldes-Engordany and La Massana parishes, with Canillo showing 1.4% quarterly growth amid slight declines elsewhere.