Press release No. 477 of 2 December 2020

Retail turnover, October 2020 (provisional)
+2.6% on the previous month (in real terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted)
+2.6% on the previous month (in nominal terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted)
+8.0% on the same month a year earlier (in real terms)
+9.4% on the same month a year earlier (in nominal terms)

WIESBADEN – According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in October 2020 was in real terms as well as in nominal terms 2.6% (both adjusted for calendar and seasonal influences) higher than in September 2020.

In October 2020, the turnover in retail rose by 8.2% (real) and 9.4% (nominal) compared to the same month of the previous year. In comparison to February 2020, the month before the outbreak of Covid 19 in Germany, the turnover in October 2020 was 5.9% (in real terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted) higher.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco were in real terms 7.3% and 10.3% in nominal terms higher in October 2020 than in October 2019. Turnover in retail sale in supermarkets, self-service department shops and hypermarkets was in real terms 7.9% and in nominal terms 10.9% higher than in the same month last year. In addition, the specialist retail sale of food (i.e. specialist retailer for fruit and vegetables, meat, baked goods, and beverages) generated in real terms 3.0% and in nominal terms 6.5% more turnover.

In the non-food retail sector, sales in October 2020 rose in real terms by 9.0% and in nominal terms by 9.4% compared with the same month of the previous year. The largest increase in turnover compared with the previous year's month in real terms by 29.8% and 31.1% in nominal terms was achieved by the internet and mail order business. Trade in furniture, household appliances and building materials also increased, with a real plus of 14.2%. Trade in textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods as well as the retail trade in various types of goods (e.g. department stores) did not yet return to the previous year's level, with real growth of -6.4% and -2.3% respectively over the previous year.

European data on retail trade
Results on retail trade in other EU countries are contained in the Eurostat’s database. At the moment the database includes data for almost all countries for October 2020.

Methodical notes
In all reports on economic indicators, the different comparison periods must be considered. The focus of economic monitoring is usually a comparison with the previous month/previous quarter. This provides an indication of the short-term trend in economic developments. A comparison of the previous month/previous quarter can only be meaningfully interpreted using calendar and seasonally adjusted data. The comparison with the previous year serves to provide a longer-term comparison of levels and it is independent of seasonal fluctuations. In the current COVID-19 crisis, the sharp downturn, especially in March/April 2020, and the gradual recovery since then may lead to very different results in the comparison of the previous month/previous quarter and the previous year. Both approaches are important: What is the economic trend compared to the previous month/previous quarter and how far has the catching-up process progressed compared to the previous year? In order to additionally enable an immediate comparison with the pre-crisis level, all press releases on economic indicators that are available on a calendar and seasonally adjusted basis include a comparison with February 2020 or the 4th quarter of 2019, now.

Further information
The revision tables provide information about the impact of the updates on the results.

Crisis Monitor enables comparison between corona crisis and financial and economic crisis
Retail turnover also forms part of the “Crises monitor“ (www.destatis.de/krisenmonitor), by means of which the Federal Statistical Office compares the development of major short-term indicators in the corona crisis and the financial and economic crisis of 2008/2009. The Crises monitor complements the "Corona statistics" webpage, which has provided statistical information on the economic and social consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

German EU Council Presidency
The Federal Statistical Office has been responsible for organising the meetings of the Council Working Party on Statistics to be held during Germany’s EU Council Presidency under the chairmanship of its President Dr. Georg Thiel. Information on our activities during the Presidency of the Council of the EU is provided at destatis.de/eu2020.