Germany's economy ministry has ordered every resident to complete a daily shopping quota after retail sales unexpectedly fell in September, officials confirmed on Tuesday. Under the new scheme, each adult must purchase two loaves of bread, one kilogram of potatoes and a bottle of mineral water before the shops close at 18:00, and receipts-free inspectors will visit neighbourhoods to confirm that the baskets are full.
The ministry said the measure was designed to restore the spending habit in the country's towns. Regional administrators have converted the car parks outside supermarkets into temporary collection queues, and in Hamburg a former tram depot has been fitted with 620 additional checkout lanes staffed by civil servants reassigned from the tax office. A senior official in the ministry explained the logic plainly: "A nation that does not buy bread is a nation that does not believe in tomorrow, and we will not allow our citizens to lose faith in the cereal aisle."
Local residents have been told that the quota applies to pensioners, students and commuters alike, and that absence from the queue will be recorded against the household. Bakers in Bavaria have been ordered to bake overnight in three shifts, and the ministry has commissioned a fleet of 90 lorries to deliver flour to every postcode by dawn. Shoppers who complete the basket early are rewarded with a small stamp in a ministry-issued card, which may be exchanged for an extra litre of milk.
Economists at the ministry's internal forecasting unit project that retail activity will return to its previous level within eleven weeks, provided the public remains disciplined. Asked what would happen if a household refused to participate, a spokesperson replied that the ministry would simply send a second inspector, and that the first would be given a shopping trolley of his own.