According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in February 2021 was in real terms 1.2% and in nominal terms 1.3% higher than in January 2021 (both adjusted for calendar and seasonal influences). These results can be explained by the second COVID-19 lockdown, which led to a partial retail closure starting on 16 December 2020. Economists had expected a 2.0% increase in real terms

In February 2021, the turnover in retail declined by 9.0% in real terms and by 7.7% in nominal terms compared to the same month of the previous year. In comparison to February 2020, the month before the outbreak of Covid 19 in Germany, the turnover in February 2021 was 5.4% in real terms, calendar and seasonally adjusted lower. The number of days open for sale was 24 in February 2021, whereas 25 days were open for sale in February 2020.