FX.co ★ German Retail Sales Fall More than Estimated

Germany experienced a 1.5% decline in retail sales for July 2025 compared to the previous month. This downturn follows a 1.0% increase in June and significantly exceeds the anticipated 0.4% decrease. This represents the most considerable drop-off since August 2023. The contraction was evident in both the food sector, with a 1.8% decrease, and the non-food sector, which saw a 0.7% fall, while online sales suffered a 3.8% reduction. Annually, retail sales rose by 1.9%, a stark slowdown from the 4.9% increase recorded in June and falling short of the predicted 2.6%, making it the slowest growth rate observed in a year. The deceleration was primarily due to reduced food expenditure, although it was partially balanced by ongoing robustness in non-food sectors and a significant uptick in online transactions.