According to provisional data of the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), turnover in retail trade in December 2020 was in real terms 9.6% and in nominal terms 9.3% lower than in November 2020 (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 the 16 December 2020.

In December 2020, the turnover in retail trade was in real terms 1.5% and in nominal terms 2.6% larger than in December 2019. The number of days open for sale was 25 in December 2020, whereas only 24 days were open for sale in December 2019.

Compared with the previous year, turnover in retail trade was in the whole year of 2020 in real terms 3.9% and in nominal terms 5.1% higher than in 2019.