Azerbaijan retail 2026: who is growing and who is pulling back

In 2026, Azerbaijani retail is moving at two different speeds. The market as a whole is growing calmly, by about 4% in real terms. But within this average, non-food products are accelerating while food is almost standing still. The picture among the chains is the same: one group of players is opening stores and building new formats and digital services, while others are restructuring or shrinking.

The market: 67.6 billion manat and steady growth

In 2025, retail trade turnover was 67.6 billion manat, up 3.8% in real terms. At current prices, the market has grown from 44.2 billion manat in 2021 to 67.6 billion manat — roughly one and a half times. Part of this growth comes from prices themselves, which is why the real growth figure is the more honest measure.

Over the past five years, food's share of turnover has ranged between 54.3% and 56.3%: it peaked in 2022 (56.3%) and stood at 54.6% in 2025. Since 2022, the shopper's basket has been slowly shifting towards non-food.

2026: non-food accelerates, food stands still

In January–August 2026, retail turnover was 44.3 billion manat, with real growth of 3.9%. Of this, 24.1 billion manat came from food, beverages and tobacco (+1.4%) and 20.2 billion manat from non-food products (+6.9%). The gap is no accident: in every year-to-date period published so far, non-food has grown by 6.5–6.9% and food by only 1.2–1.5%.

On average, each resident spent 538.6 manat a month in retail: 293.1 manat on food, beverages and tobacco and 245.5 manat on non-food products. Half of all spending still goes on groceries, and the second-largest category is clothing and footwear.

For marketers, the implication is simple: in grocery chains the market itself is growing only slightly, so growth has to come out of competitors' share. This explains the race for loyalty programmes, private labels and new formats.

Organised retail is gaining share

In 2025, 28.4% of turnover came from enterprises — that is, chains and other legal entities. A year earlier, the figure was 27.1%. The remaining 71.6% is still in the hands of individual entrepreneurs and markets. The main trend of recent years is modern supermarkets and hypermarkets taking the place of kiosks and small shops. More than 50,000 people work in the country's retail chains.

Chains: who is doing what

Tamstore — the fastest grower of the year

Avrora Group's chain opened its first store in Sumgayit in November 2023. It had 45 stores in October 2024 and 86 at the end of 2025. On 26 August 2026, its 100th store opened in Binagadi, reaching the three-year target ahead of schedule. Of its stores, 56 are in Baku, 8 in Absheron, 6 in Sumgayit, 2 in Nakhchivan and 28 in the regions.

Bravo — premium format and online

Bravo had 137 stores in October 2024. It opened 12 new stores in 2025 and ended the year with 145, and as of April 2026 it operates around 150 stores with 4,300 employees. In 2025, the chain opened its first BRAVO PREMIUM store (Sea Breeze), brought loyalty and online shopping together in a single app with BRAVO ONLINE, and launched about 200 new private-label products.

Bazarstore — heading for the regions

Azersun Holding's chain opened its 99th store in Agdash in January 2025. It was followed by Beylagan (December 2025), an 8th store in Ganja (March 2026) and a 3rd in Shaki (April 2026). The online store delivers orders within one day.

Araz — technology and production

Sources differ on Araz's store count: the media reported more than 400 stores in 2024 and more than 300 in January 2026, while the company's website lists 345+. So I am not drawing any conclusions from the number here. But the main innovations of 2026 are clear: PalmPay palm payments in 5 stores, a customer card in Apple and Google Wallet, corporate gift cards, potatoes from Masalli farmers and the APACK packaging facility opened in October (4,800 m², 52 employees). Its private-label line comprises more than 1,000 products in 25 categories. In 2025, Araz paid the most tax of all supermarket chains — 46.4 million manat.

OBA — scale

OBA is the country's largest chain: more than 1,500 stores and more than 10,000 employees. Its 1,500th store opened in Nakhchivan in December 2024. The chain has also launched the first startup support programme in the retail sector.

AL Market — restructuring

In 2025, Azersun's discounter renovated its stores, closed some branches that did not meet its standards and changed its head. The company's website lists more than 800 stores.

Grandmart, Bolmart and MegaStore — separate paths

In 2022, these brands were presented as a single chain (80 branches, 96 after Bizim Market joined). Today they are separate companies with different owners. Grandmart was listed with 32 branches in October 2024, while in April 2026 the figure given is "more than 10". For Bolmart, the figure fell from 45 to "more than 20" between October 2024 and October 2025, but the company's management said that closing stores was not on the agenda. These figures come from different sources and should be read as a direction, not a precise measurement.

Other players

Rahat opened its 100th branch, in the Rahat Gourmet format, at Crescent Mall: 3,500 m² and the country's first self-checkout tills. In 2025, Neptun brought its digital Neptun Fayda card to Apple and Google Wallet. KingsMart is preparing new branches in Sahil and Hovsan.

2025–2026: key events

5 takeaways for marketers

1. The regions are opening up. Tamstore's 28 regional stores and Bazarstore's openings in Ganja, Shaki, Beylagan and Agdash show that chains are moving beyond Baku. Regional activations and regional promotions now require a plan of their own.
2. Private labels are taking shelf space. Araz comes with more than 1,000 private-label products, and Bravo with about 200 new ones in 2025. Manufacturer brands now compete for shelf space not only with each other but also with the chain's own brand.
3. Non-food is eating the budget. Non-food is growing about five times faster than food. For food brands, this means that price sensitivity and promotional pressure will continue.
4. Loyalty is going digital. Wallet cards (Araz, Neptun), apps (BRAVO ONLINE, OBA Plus) and palm payments give chains data on their shoppers. Using this data to offer brands targeted promotions is the next step.
5. The market is splitting into two poles. On one side are Bravo Premium and Rahat Gourmet; on the other, the AL Market discounter and OBA's convenience format. Pressure will grow on the chains left in the middle segment.

The report is based on January–August 2026 figures. It will be updated when Azstat releases its January–September data and the full-year results.