BERLIN (Reuters) – German retailers are expected to increase their revenues by 1.5% year-on-year in 2021, assuming no further coronavirus lockdowns hitting consumers’ appetite and shutting shops, industry association HDE said on Wednesday.
Online sales, boosted by COVID-19 restrictions last year, are expected to rise by around 20% this year to just over 87 billion euros ($103 billion), HDE said, up from the forecast of 17%.
HDE said three quarters of retail companies in Germany reported lower revenue in the first half of the year as a measures to curb coronavirus infections non-essential closed shops in the first four months of 2021.
“The crisis is not over yet, the situation is still very difficult for many retailers,” said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth.
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(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Emma Thomasson)
