WIESBADEN – November 02, 2026 -- German retail sales fell 2.0% in real terms in September 2026 from August on a calendar- and seasonally adjusted basis, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Nominal sales declined 1.5% over the same period.

Year on year, real sales dropped 2.3% against September 2025, while nominal sales rose 1.2%. The gap between real and nominal figures points to price effects in the sector.

August growth revised slightly lower

August retail sales rose 1.2% in real terms from July after revision, down from the preliminary 1.3%. Nominal growth was revised to 1.6% from 1.7%. August sales were 0.3% lower in real terms than a year earlier and 2.8% higher in nominal terms.

Petrol stations post the steepest annual real decline at 9.3%

Real sales at petrol stations fell 3.4% month on month, while nominal sales rose 2.1%. Against September 2025, real sales dropped 9.3% and nominal sales climbed 16.2%. These figures include sales in petrol station shops.

Food retailers lose 1.4% in real terms, non-food falls 2.4%

Food retail sales declined 1.4% in real terms and 1.1% in nominal terms from August. Year on year, food sales fell 1.1% in real terms and 0.5% in nominal terms.

Non-food retail fell 2.4% in real terms and 1.9% in nominal terms month on month. Compared with September 2025, real sales were down 2.8%, while nominal sales were up 1.7%.

Online and mail-order sales slip 2.2% on the month but grow 4.4% on the year

Internet and mail-order retailers recorded a real decline of 2.2% and a nominal decline of 2.0% from August. Year on year, real sales grew 4.4% and nominal sales 5.7%, the strongest annual real growth among the segments Destatis reported.

New sample replaces reporting base retroactively to January 2026

With the September reporting month, Destatis replaced the existing sample of reporting legal entities in retail with a new one. The new sample applies retroactively from January 2026. To keep results comparable, existing index series are extended using paired rates of change from the new sample, and revisions to results since January 2026 may occur.

Destatis normally publishes preliminary retail results 30 days after the end of a reporting month. Data in the GENESIS-Online database are updated after 45 days, which can cause deviations of about two weeks between the press release and database values. Updated results appear as revisions in the following release.