Shops dying in Germany: Association expects thousands of closures this year. Retail sales only grew last year thanks to price increases, by 2.9 percent to almost 650 billion euros.
Adjusted for inflation, however, they shrank by 3.4 percent. Things are expected to go a little better this year: sales expected to increase by three.5 percent, which in real terms corresponds to an increase of one percent. All actors from retail, municipalities, gastronomy and culture would have to work together on site.