According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in October 2020 was in real terms as well as in nominal terms 2.6% (both adjusted for calendar and seasonal influences) higher than in September 2020. Economists had expected a 1.2% increase in real terms.

In October 2020, the turnover in retail rose by 8.2% (real) and 9.4% (nominal) compared to the same month of the previous year. Economists had expected a 5.9% increase in real terms. In comparison to February 2020, the month before the outbreak of Covid 19 in Germany, the turnover in October 2020 was 5.9% (in real terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted) higher.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco were in real terms 7.3% and 10.3% in nominal terms higher in October 2020 than in October 2019. Turnover in retail sale in supermarkets, self-service department shops and hypermarkets was in real terms 7.9% and in nominal terms 10.9% higher than in the same month last year. 

In the non-food retail sector, sales in October 2020 rose in real terms by 9.0% and in nominal terms by 9.4% compared with the same month of the previous year. The largest increase in turnover compared with the previous year's month in real terms by 29.8% and 31.1% in nominal terms was achieved by the internet and mail order business. Trade in furniture, household appliances and building materials also increased, with a real plus of 14.2%.