German retail sales fell less than forecast in June

According to provisional data Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in June 2020 was in real and nominal terms adjusted for calendar and seasonal variations 1.6% lower than in May 2020. Economists had expected a 3.3% decrease.

In comparison to February 2020, the month before the outbreak of Covid-19 in Germany, the turnover in June 2020 was 1.4% higher.

In June 2020, the turnover in retail rose by 5.9% (real) and 6.8% (nominal) compared to the same month previous year. While June 2019 with 24 days of sale had one day less than June 2020.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco were in real terms 2.3% and 5.7% nominal terms higher in June 2020 than in June 2019. Turnover in retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco were in real terms 3.1% and nominal terms 6.4% higher than in the same month last year. By contrast, the retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores had in real terms 4.0% and in nominal terms 0.1% a lower turnover.

In the non-food retail sector, sales in June 2020 rose in real terms by 8.4% and nominal terms by 8.3% compared with the same month previous year. The largest increase in turnover compared with the previous year's month in real terms by +30.7% and +30.6% in nominal terms was achieved by the internet and mail order business. Change rates of this magnitude are unusual even in this very dynamic sector and are therefore largely attributable to a special influence of the corona pandemic. Trade in furniture, household appliances and building materials also increased significantly, with a real plus of 14.6%. Trade in textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods and the retail trade in various types of goods (e.g. department stores), on the other hand, did not yet return to the previous year's level, with real growth of -16.0% and -11.1% respectively over the previous year.