Press release No. N 065 of 10 November 2022
- From January to September 2022, turnover from sales of clothing was down by 11.0% compared with the same period in 2019, turnover in bookshops dropped by 21.0%, in toy shops by 17.5% and electronics shops by 7.4%
- Turnover from online sales increased by 31.2% in the same period; total shop-based retail trade recorded a plus of 3.0%
- The number of pedestrians in German shopping streets was 6.6% lower in October 2022 than before the pandemic, in October 2019
- One in ten shops closed down within the last ten years
WIESBADEN – The Covid-19 pandemic, delivery bottlenecks, inflation: retailers in the shopping streets of German city centres are facing great challenges and suffering big drops in turnover as a result. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that turnover from shop-based retail sales of clothing dropped by 11.0% in real terms in the months from January to September 2022 compared with the same period in 2019, the year before the pandemic. The development was similar for other shops typically located in city centres. Adjusted for price changes, turnover from retail sales of books slumped by 21.0% in the period under review, and retail sales of games and toys fell by 17.5%. The decrease in retail trade turnover from consumer electronics (-7.4%) and footwear (-4.9%) was slightly less pronounced. One exception was the retail sale of jewellery, clocks and watches, where turnover increased by 17.8% in real terms.
