BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Retail companies in Germany have lowered their business expectations for 2019, the German Retail Federation (HDE) announced on Wednesday.

Out of 1,000 surveyed German retail companies, only 30 percent were expecting increasing turnover this year, according to the HDE survey.

Business expectations in the retail sector were weaker than last year, when 37 percent of the surveyed companies had expected increasing sales.

Smaller retail companies in particular were concerned about their business situation as demographic developments meant that "there are just fewer customers in the stores", Kai Falk, press spokesperson for the HDE, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The retail sector was experiencing a structural change towards online trading, according to Falk.

"It is important that smaller companies get a chance to participate in online trading. Political framework conditions must be created so that equal opportunities apply to all," added Falk.

HDE managing director Stefan Genth also saw a need for reforms, particularly in corporate taxation, because in many cases, "the additional regulations for commercial tax are exacerbating crises".

In view of the "overburdened infrastructure in many places", the HDE called for a further expansion of the road network and public transportation which would be necessary in order to secure the supply of customers and businesses in the future.

Nonetheless, the overall conditions for the retail businesses in Germany would be good this year, according to the HDE.

Germany's retail companies will increase their sales "moderately" by two percent to just over 537 billion euros (598 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019, it predicted.

The stationary retail sector is expected to grow by 1.3 percent in 2019 while revenues in online retailing will increase by around nine percent to 57.8 billion euros, according to HDE. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)