Retail sales down 0.8% on previous month

In September 2023, German retail sales were down 0.8 percent on the previous month, mainly due to higher prices. However, there was a positive increase of 2.2 percent in food retailing.

WIESBADEN - Retail businesses in Germany faced a decline in sales in September 2023, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Both price-adjusted (real) sales and non-price-adjusted (nominal) sales fell compared to the previous month of August 2023, with real sales recording a 0.8 percent decline, while nominal sales fell by 0.7 percent. Compared to September of the previous year (2022), the decline in sales was 4.3 percent on a real basis and 0.6 percent on a nominal basis. These differences between real and nominal results were due to increased retail prices.

Increase in sales in the food retail sector

In contrast, retail food sales experienced growth in September 2023. Food retail sales increased by 2.2 percent in real terms and 2.6 percent in nominal terms compared to the previous month. Compared to the December 2022 low, calendar- and seasonally-adjusted real sales posted a 4.7 percent increase. Compared with September 2022, real sales decreased 0.5 percent, while nominal sales increased 6.0 percent.

Decline in non-food and online retailing.

In September 2023, nonfood retail trade and online retail trade posted significant declines in real sales. Real non-food retail sales fell 3.7 percent month-over-month and as much as 7.1 percent year-over-year. At the same time, internet and mail-order retail experienced a 3.7 percent month-on-month decline in real sales, representing a 7.2 percent decrease in sales compared to September 2022.

It should be noted that in August 2023, the reporting scope of reportable legal entities in retail trade was updated. This involved removing 1,597 old units from the sample and adding 4,888 new units. These changes were effective retroactively from January 2022. The sampling methodology was also adjusted.