By DPA
The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), has reported that a surge in online sales during the coronavirus crisis helped German retail turnover growth in the first six months of 2020.
The office said in real terms, turnover increased by 0.8 per cent compared to the second half of 2019, citing provisional data.
However, in nominal terms, the rise was 1.5 per cent.
As people increasingly chose to shop from home rather than venture out to brick-and-mortar stores, turnover in internet retailing rose by 19 per cent in real terms.
Hardware stores also got a boost of 14.2 per cent, while the turnover at retail stands such as markets also went up considerably, by 15.1 per cent.
Declines were reported for retailers of textiles (down 29 per cent), shoes (down 25 per cent), watches and jewellery (down 23.8 per cent) and books (down 18.3 per cent), representing traditional offering on Germany’s ailing high streets.
According to a study, German bicycle retailers were the biggest winners of the coronavirus crisis.
The Munich-based ifo research institute found that almost all bike shops were satisfied with their current business situation, rating it at 95 points out of a possible 100.
According to ifo’s Head of Surveys, Klaus Wohlrabe, bicycle retailers are experiencing a genuine boom.
The study backed up the government data, showing a boom for construction materials and DIY, with those businesses rating their current situation at 83.1 points.
Meanwhile, retailers of food and beverage as well as electronics and computers were also doing well.
“On the other hand, the situation looks gloomy for clothing retailers of all kinds, including shoes as well as shops selling leather goods and bags.
“Their figures were minus 60.9 points and minus 85.0 points, respectively,’’ Wohlrabe said.
According to ifo, car dealerships were recovering slowly after the chaos unleashed on the automotive market by the pandemic earlier in 2020, with their situation now rated at minus 37 points.
