German retailers ended the first half of 2022 with the biggest drop in annual sales in nearly three decades as inflation, the war in Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic take their toll, the latest statistics show.
In June, retail sales fell by 8.8 percent in real terms compared to the same month last year, which is the biggest drop since records began in 1994, the Federal Bureau of Statistics Destatis announced. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected an 8.0 percent decline.
Retail trade turnover also surprised with a real decline of 1.6 percent in June compared to May, as analysts had expected a 0.2 percent increase.