Dhe German retailers generated record sales in 2021 despite Corona restrictions and delivery problems. Income was 3.1 percent above the previous record year 2020, as the Federal Statistical Office extrapolated on Tuesday based on results for the first eleven months. Adjusted for prices (real), this was an increase of 0.9 percent. However, things were far from going well in all industries: The retail trade with textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods also suffered noticeable losses in the second Corona year. In contrast, the online business, which was booming before the Corona, once again grew double-digit.
“The dealers who were affected by the store closings are still having to cope with sales declines of up to 30 percent compared to the pre-crisis level over the year,” commented the chief executive of the HDE trade association, Stefan Genth, on the development. “Many retail companies, for example in the stationary clothing sector, cannot do this on their own.”
The dealers were recently burdened by stricter corona rules. With the exception of shops for daily needs such as supermarkets and drugstores, only those who have been vaccinated or recovered (2G) have been allowed to enter the shops in the past few weeks due to the fourth wave of corona. In addition, the industry is plagued by delivery problems: Ironically, in the high-turnover time before Christmas, almost 82 percent of retailers complained that they could not offer all products. Electronic household appliances and entertainment electronics were particularly scarce.
Better than expected
Nevertheless, at the beginning of the Christmas business it was enough to increase sales: In November, retailers took 0.6 percent more in real terms than in the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.5 percent. “The violent corona wave and the high rate of inflation did not affect consumers as much as they thought,” said Alexander Krüger, chief economist of the private bank Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe. The purchasing power of consumers was diminished last year by the strong inflation: In November, prices rose by 5.2 percent, the strongest they have been in almost 30 years. “Due to new corona restrictions, the situation will remain tense for the time being,” said Krüger. “The stationary retail trade is already feeling the gloomy consumer mood.”
Despite discount campaigns such as “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday”, the Internet and mail order business saw a real drop in sales of 3.1 percent in November compared to the previous month. With an increase of 30.3 percent, sales in this industry are still well above the level of February 2020, the start of the corona pandemic in Germany. The stationary retail trade had to accept billions in sales losses under 2G conditions, said HDE expert Genth.
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