Inflation turns 3% growth for German retail into 2% contraction – association

BERLIN (Reuters) – The German Retail Association left unchanged its forecast for the sector to grow 3% in nominal terms in 2022, but rising inflation meant that turnover would shrink by 2% in real terms, the body said on Tuesday.

The industry group blamed rising inflation and energy costs and poor consumer sentiment for the outlook. It said brick-and-mortar turnover would grow 1.4% in nominal terms and online retail 12.4%. Total turnover would hit 607.1 billion euros.

“The Russian war in Ukraine and COVID-19 lockdowns in Asia are interfering with supply chains, inflation is rising and energy costs are hitting unimagined highs,” said HDE head Stefan Genth. “Rising inflation is massively affecting shoppers.”

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Maria Sheahan)