According to preliminary results released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, German retail sales in July 2026 saw a real decline of 3.4 percent and a nominal decrease of 1.7 percent when compared to June 2026, after seasonal and calendar adjustments. Compared to the same month last year, sales fell in real terms by 2.5 percent, while nominal sales registered a slight increase of 0.3 percent.
For comparative context, retail sales in June 2026 remained unchanged in real terms (0.0 percent, revised from 0.7 percent preliminary), and nominal sales dropped by 0.2 percent (revised from 1.0 percent preliminary) compared to May 2026.
A notable trend in July 2026 was the performance of gas stations. Following the conclusion of the fuel discount that was active in May and June, seasonally and calendar-adjusted sales at these locations dropped significantly, falling 9.1 percent in real terms and 1.9 percent in nominal terms compared to the previous month. Year-over-year, real sales at gas stations declined by 9.3 percent, though nominal sales rose by 6.9 percent. It should be noted that these sales figures include transactions from gas station shops.
In the food retail sector, sales decreased by 0.8 percent in real terms and 0.5 percent in nominal terms compared to the preceding month. Comparing to the previous year, food retail experienced a real contraction of 0.3 percent, offset by a nominal growth of 0.2 percent.
The non-food retail segment saw a drop of 4.8 percent in real terms and 2.5 percent in nominal terms over the last month, after adjustments. Against last year’s figures, sales in non-food goods contracted by 3.4 percent in real terms, while nominal sales increased slightly by 0.1 percent.
In the online and mail-order trade, sales decreased by 5.6 percent in real terms and 5.8 percent in nominal terms compared to July. When compared to the same period last year, the internet and mail-order sector shrank by 0.8 percent in real terms and 0.2 percent in nominal terms.
