German retail sales plunged far more than expected in December as a decision to tighten lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 choked consumer spending in Europe's largest economy at the end of the year, data showed on Monday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state premiers decided to close most shops and services from mid-December after a partial lockdown for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues introduced in early November failed to push down infections.
The stricter lockdown, which included schools and kindergartens but excluded factories and offices, has been extended until mid-February.
The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales fell by an unprecedented 9.6% on the month in real terms after a downwardly revised increase of 1.1% in November.
This undershot a Reuters forecast for a drop of 2.6% and marked the steepest monthly drop since records began in 1994, the office said.
"The containment measures left massive scars in December. Compared to November, sales dropped by an alarming extent," VP Bank analyst Thomas Gitzel said.
On the year, retail sales - a notoriously volatile indicator often subject to revisions - rose 1.5% in real terms following a downwardly revised increase of 5% in November.
Online Sales Benefit
For 2020 as a whole, retail sales jumped by 3.9% on the year in real terms, the office said. That was slightly below a previous estimate of 4.1% but it still marked the highest annual increase on record.
Online retailers continued to benefit from shifting consumer habits with a strong jump in sales, which came at the expense of clothing and shoe stores which continued to suffer.
The weaker-than-expected retail sales data followed a consumer sentiment survey by GfK research group last week, which showed that German consumer morale fell a fourth month in a row heading into February as the stricter lockdown kept people from going shopping.
The Ifo economic institute said on Monday that the number of workers on reduced hours as part of the 'Kurzarbeit' job protection scheme rose by almost 20% to 2.6 million in January as a result of the stricter lockdown.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
