German retail sales fall 0.6% in February

(Sharecast News) - German retail sales in Germany fell by a more than expected 0.6% in real terms in February 2026 compared to the prior month, according to preliminary figures from the federal statistics office Destatis.



Economists had been expecting a 0.3% rise, with the decline indicating households in Europe's biggest economy were already retrenching discretionary spending before the US and Israel started their war on Iran at the end of February.

Retail sales in the food sector declined by 1.4%, in the non-food retail sector, sales increased by 0.7%. Meanwhile, online and mail-order sales increased by 0.6%.

Year on year sales increased by 0.7%. The January 2026 figure was revised to a 1.1% decline from the flash estimate of a 0.9 fall compared to December.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com