retail
“Decent start” for many retailers in the Christmas business
The months of November and December are particularly important for many businesses. But consumer sentiment is depressed. After the week before the first Advent, the industry is drawing a mixed conclusion.
According to the industry association HDE, some German retailers have had a good start to this year’s Christmas business. In the week before the first Advent, business at many retailers got off to a mixed start given the difficult overall economic conditions.
“Despite the challenging times, this was a decent start to the hot phase of the Christmas business for many in the retail sector,” said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth. “However, there is currently no consistent picture.”
Although things went a little better than last year, especially on Saturday, the positive development is not yet being felt across retailers, the German Trade Association (HDE) said, citing a survey of 276 companies.
Sales in the clothing trade are currently mostly weak
According to the survey, the situation is above average positive for larger companies with annual sales of over two million euros as well as for retailers in central inner city locations and urban suburbs. A third of the companies here were satisfied with the process.
The first week of Advent is rated positively by retailers selling consumer electronics, watches and jewelry, books and toys. The food trade is also often satisfied. However, sales development in the clothing trade is currently still largely weak.
Rather cautious consumer sentiment
“Many consumers are reluctant to shop. Real impulses for the Christmas business can currently only be observed sporadically,” said Genth. Almost two thirds of the stores reported falling customer frequencies compared to the previous year. As expected, the consumer mood is still rather cautious.
According to the HDE, around a third of the companies surveyed were satisfied with the whole of November. This value is higher than in the previous year. However, half of all respondents were dissatisfied. According to the association, retailers expect total sales of 121.4 billion euros for November and December, which corresponds to an increase of 1.3 percent compared to the previous year.
dpa
Source: Stern
