German retail sales slipped by 0.2% in August from the previous month, according to provisional, seasonally-corrected figures released on Friday by the national statistics office.
On an annual basis however, retail sales in the biggest European economy gained 2.2%, the Destatis data showed.
Despite a continued economic rebound encouraging falls in unemployment, and a rise in consumer sentiment, shoppers are thus still slow to dig out their wallets and purses.