By Maria Martinez
Germany's retail sales increased in February despite the continuing lockdown, the German statistics office said Thursday.
In February, retail sales rose 1.2% month-on-month in real terms, following a 6.5% decline in the previous month due to a partial retail closure that began on Dec. 16. Year-on-year, retail sales declined 9.0% in real terms in February.
In comparison to February 2020, the month before the start of the pandemic in Germany, retail sales fell 5.4%, Destatis says.
Pandemic-related restrictions are still affecting the various retail sectors differently, the statistics office said. While retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco products declined 1.6% year-on-year in February, sales of non-food products declined about 13.8%.
Online sales continued to benefit strongly from the closure of stores, increasing 34.1% year-on-year in February, Destatis says.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-01-21 0336ET