BERLIN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Real sales in Germany's retail sector fell for the second year in a row, down 3.1 percent in 2023, according to an estimate published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday.
"As expected, 2023 was not an easy year for many retailers," a spokesperson of the German Retail Federation (HDE) told Xinhua on Friday, adding that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and high inflation were "still having a clear impact on consumer sentiment."
The Christmas season did not bring the turnaround with weak business weighing on many retailers, the ifo Institute for Economic Research said in late December. Expectations for the coming months also "darken further and remain largely pessimistic."
Inflation in Europe's largest economy is normalizing more slowly than in other European countries. While Germany's average inflation rate in 2023 stood at 5.9 percent, it had already declined to 5.4 percent in the Eurozone, according to relevant official figures.
"For 2024, German retailers are of course counting on better sales," the HDE spokesperson said. "Rising consumer sentiment is particularly important for this, as the HDE consumer barometer has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic level."
A further decline in inflation and rising real wages as a result of strong wage increases are "likely to provide positive stimuli," the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) said in its forecast published in mid-December. "Consumption will be higher again, but still more restrained than before the coronavirus pandemic."
