German retail sales fell by 0.5 percent last month compared to January, the German federal statistics agency Destatis reports. Corrected for the higher prices, sales in the German high street even fell by 1.3 percent in a month.
Compared to February last year, the turnover of German retailers did increase by 2.6 percent. But that was purely due to increased prices, because adjusted for inflation, turnover would have fallen by more than 7 percent.
Dutch figures
The declining sales figures indicate that Germans have less and less money left due to the higher cost of living. Non-food stores in particular sold less. White goods and furniture stores and booksellers, among others, had to deal with a strong decline.
Dutch figures on retail sales also show that consumers buy less stuff or food in shops. Turnover increased according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, but that was mainly due to the increased prices.