Preliminary data released by the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reveals nuanced shifts in retail sales during August 2025. Overall turnover for retailers experienced a slight decline of 0.2 percent in real terms (inflation-adjusted) compared to July 2025, while nominal turnover (unadjusted for inflation) increased marginally by 0.1 percent.
When compared to August 2024, real turnover showed a robust increase of 1.8 percent, while nominal turnover climbed by 3.2 percent, indicating growth relative to the prior year. A revision of previously released figures for July 2025 demonstrated a less severe contraction in retail sales; the real decline was adjusted from an initial estimate of -1.5 percent to -0.5 percent and the nominal decline from -1.0 percent to -0.1 percent.
Sales within the food retail sector displayed a contrasting trend, with a real increase of 0.6 percent and a nominal rise of 1.1 percent compared to the previous month. However, year-on-year, food retail experienced a real decline of 0.6 percent and a nominal increase of 2.4 percent relative to August 2024.
Non-food retail recorded a real decline of 1.0 percent and a nominal decrease of 1.3 percent when compared to July 2025, after seasonal and calendar adjustments. Nevertheless, non-food retail registered significant growth year-on-year, with real turnover up 3.2 percent and nominal turnover rising by 3.8 percent.
The online and mail-order retail sector showed a real turnover decrease of 2.0 percent and a nominal decrease of 2.2 percent compared to the previous month. Despite this downturn, online retail demonstrated considerable growth when looking at the annual comparison, achieving a real increase of 7.4 percent and a nominal rise of 7.8 percent relative to August 2024, according to the statistical agency.