Spend more money to get less than a year ago: That was a reality for consumers in July for the 25th month in a row.
In retail as a whole, real, i.e. price-adjusted, sales were 2.2 percent below the values from the same month last year. Nevertheless, the dealers had a nominal 2.7 percent more in their tills, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday.
Compared to June, both values fell by 0.8 percent. In the case of food, however, a real increase of 2 percent was observed. The statisticians attributed the rebound in business to the slight fall in food prices since March. As a result, consumers would have bought a little more again.
The DIY stores did significantly less business than in the previous year, having to cope with a drop in real sales of 5.7 percent. Internet and mail order business also weakened with a minus of 1.7 percent. Things went better for textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods with an increase of 4.7 percent compared to July 2022. (dpa)