Overview
- The Creditreform and Handelsblatt Research Institute analysis published Thursday shows Germany lost about 65,000 owner‑run shops with annual sales under €250,000 between 2010 and 2025, a 28 percent drop that left roughly 170,770 such outlets in 2025.
- Overall retail locations fell about 16 percent to roughly 316,000 stores in 2025 while the number of retailers with more than €25 million in annual sales doubled from 1,205 to 2,420 between 2010 and 2025.
- Retail insolvencies rose sharply, with 2,440 filings in 2025, nine percent more than 2024, and especially heavy losses in fashion, bookshops and bakeries and confectioners.
- An IfH visitor survey shows non‑food discounters reached 85 percent of Germans in the past two years, and the IfH estimates each vacant shop costs municipalities about €12,485 in lost revenue through lower taxes, jobs and property values.
- Industry groups and analysts are asking for short‑term policy relief on energy and labor costs and for landlords to adopt turnover‑linked rents while Creditreform urges smaller retailers to specialize, add experiences and digital services and cities to mix retail with leisure, gastronomy and housing.