Actual (Feb): -7.9 % Consensus: -3.3 % Previous (Jan): -3.4 % The February retail sales figures prove that domestic demand is weakening fast. The two important factors for retail sales both deteriorate: Unemployment started growing up significantly at the end of 2008 and is expected to go up further from current levels. Wage growth is seen stagnating in 2009 after 2.1% real growth in 2008. The fall in retail sales in February was across all goods categories except for pharmacy.