German retail sales saw their steepest year over year decline on record for the month of June, per the country’s Federal Statistical Office.
“Compared with June 2021, retail trade recorded an 8.8% decrease in turnover in real terms in June 2022,” a press release from the office stated. “This was the largest year-on-year decrease since the beginning of the time series in 1994.”
The decline in retail sales reflected a drop 0.8% greater than had been anticipated by economists ahead of the report. The share drop highlights recession fears that have hung over Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
"The Euro zone is going into recession," IIF Chief Economist Robin Brooks declared on Monday. "German retail sales volumes are on their way down to lows reached in the first COVID wave in 2020, when parts of the economy were literally shut down. That signals deep recession, in contrast to the US, that's humming along."
Germany is the largest market for major European retailer H&M ( OTCPK:HNNMY ) and is home to growing eCommerce companies like Zalando ( OTCPK:ZLDSF ).
Elsewhere, beer sales in Germany increased by 3.8%, or 157.2 million liters, in the first six months of 2022 as compared to the prior year.
Read more on the manufacturing downturn impacting the Eurozone .
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German retail sales slide by largest margin on record