German retail sales experienced a positive shift in June 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday. Calendar- and seasonally-adjusted real turnover increased by 1.0 percent compared to May 2025, while nominal turnover rose by 0.8 percent. This represents a significant improvement when compared to the year-on-year performance, where real turnover climbed 4.9 percent and nominal turnover increased by 5.8 percent.
A revised assessment of May 2025’s performance revealed a smaller-than-initially reported decline. Real turnover decreased by 0.6 percent (previously estimated at -1.6 percent) and nominal turnover decreased by 0.1 percent (previously reported as -1.2 percent).
The food sector demonstrated moderate growth, with calendar- and seasonally-adjusted real and nominal turnover increasing by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, the food retail sector registered a real turnover increase of 0.9 percent and a nominal increase of 3.3 percent.
Non-food retail saw a more substantial rise, with real turnover increasing by 1.8 percent and nominal turnover by 1.4 percent when compared to May 2025. The sector experienced a more impressive annual increase, with real turnover rising 7.4 percent and nominal turnover climbing 7.7 percent compared to June 2024.
Online and mail-order retail demonstrated particularly strong performance, exhibiting a real turnover increase of 9.0 percent and a nominal increase of 8.5 percent for June. Year-on-year, this sector showed robust growth, with real turnover up 20.4 percent and nominal turnover increasing by 19.9 percent.