BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Christmas shopping season started well - suggesting a bounce-back in Europe's biggest economy is continuing - with electronics, homeware and food selling particularly strongly, the German retail association (HDE) said on Sunday.
Data out on Friday showed German retail sales recovered strongly in October after a steep drop in September as the private consumption that has become vital for growth in the country showed signs of renewed strength.
"We are satisfied... Most popular were books and premium foodstuffs," HDE head Stefan Genth said in a statement, adding that Advent calendars and Christmas decorations had also sold well.
An HDE survey of 500 firms showed that electronics, home and garden and food were doing particularly well, with hopes rising among fashion retailers for sales of winter gear as temperatures dropped in Germany after unseasonably mild weather.
The HDE is predicting a 1.2 percent rise in sales for November and December to 85.5 billion euros ($106 billion). E-commerce is expected to grow 18 percent to make up 10 billion of that.
German retail sales for the first 10 months of the year were up 1.3 percent in nominal terms, the statistics office said.
(1 US dollar = 0.8030 euro)
(Reporting by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Sophie Walker)