BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's retail sales growth accelerated notably in January, data published by Destatis revealed on Monday.
Retail sales advanced 10.3 percent year-on-year in January, following a 0.8 percent rise each in December and November. Sales were forecast to climb 9.8 percent.
Destatis said the strong increase in sales compared to the same month last year is partly due to the partial lockdown in January 2021.
Data showed that many consumers preferred larger purchases, such as furniture, to December 2020 due to the temporary reduction in VAT in the second half of 2020.
Food, beverages and tobacco sales dropped 5.6 percent, while non-food sales surged 22.8 percent from the last year.
On a monthly basis, retail turnover rebounded 2.0 percent after falling 4.6 percent in December. Economists had forecast an increase of 1.8 percent.
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