Retail in Germany recovered again in July. Sales increased by 1.9 percent adjusted for price and by 2.4 percent including price increases compared to the previous month of June, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday in Wiesbaden. Compared to July 2021, retail sales increased by 6.1 percent, but price-adjusted sales fell by 2.6 percent. The difference reflects the high price increases in retail, the authority said. High inflation and the energy crisis are dampening consumers’ willingness to buy, as GfK market researchers recently reported.
The recovery in retail was driven by internet and mail order business. There, price-adjusted sales in July rose by 9.2 percent compared to the previous month and were thus a good 5 percent above the same period in July 2021. In June of this year, online and mail order business had suffered a severe slump.
The food retail sector also recovered somewhat from the slump in sales of the past three months and grew by 2.1 percent in real terms in June. Compared to March, however, 6.5 percent less food was sold in July.
There was less momentum in the non-food trade. Trade in textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods was able to stop the recent downward trend and also recorded slight sales growth. (dpa)