Status: 06.01.2023 11:28 a.m
In 2022, Germany’s retailers were able to increase their sales by 8.2 percent – more than ever before. But on closer inspection, things look a little different. One industry in particular loses.
In the past year, the German retail trade achieved higher sales than ever before. The figures for December are still missing, but the Federal Statistical Office estimates that revenue in 2022 was 8.2 percent higher than in the old record year 2021.
However, the real values look different: if inflation is taken into account, sales fell by 0.3 percent compared to the previous year. “The difference between the nominal and real results reflects the high price increases in retail,” explains the Federal Statistical Office.
There was no major slump in consumption
The Christmas business also ensured an upward trend last year: in November, when retailers also attracted consumers with campaigns such as “Black Friday” and “Cyber Week”, there was a real increase in sales of 1.1 percent compared to October – slightly more than economists had previously expected.
“Despite the energy price debacle and poor consumer mood, sales are surprisingly stable,” said the chief economist at Hauck Aufhäuser Lampe Privatbank, Alexander Krüger, to the Reuters news agency. In any case, there has been no sharp slump in consumption so far. The increasing familiarity with the crisis speaks against a drop in consumption and for a mild recession.
Sales increase especially in the run-up to Christmas.
Image: dpa
Decline in sales in e-commerce
Sales plummeted, especially in mail order and online trading: In real terms, i.e. adjusted for inflation, income fell by 8.1 percent. However, the industry had achieved enormous growth during the corona pandemic in 2021: Compared to 2020, sales had increased by 12.3 percent in real terms.
Record year 2021
The Federal Statistical Office recorded the highest annual turnover since the start of the calculation in 2021: In the pandemic year, turnover rose by 0.8 percent in real terms compared to the previous year 2020 and compared to 2019 by as much as 5.6 percent.