Many merchants in Upper Austria were disappointed with the Sunday opening. During a broadcast in the individual shopping centers, the voices were consistently cautious. Things went better in Salzburg. According to Thomas Krötzl, manager of the “Varena” shopping center in Vöcklabruck, customer frequency has halved compared to yesterday’s shopping Saturday.
The numbers were worse in Wels: In the “max.center” the number of visitors today was “like on a normal weekday”, as center manager Egbert Holz explained. What was expected has not been achieved by a long way. Compared to yesterday’s very strong Saturday, they are “under half”. In the “PlusCity” in Pasching there was a good occupancy rate, as center manager Christoph Exl reported. “But it could be more,” there was also some disappointment. Around a third fewer customers came than yesterday.
Only in the Rieder Weberzeile was the customer frequency for center boss Christoph Vormair above his expectations. If the hype started off leisurely at first, the visitors have been pouring into the department store since noon. You could compare today with December 8th, he said.
It was noticeable in all shopping centers in the state of Ob der Enns that, in addition to the modest number of customers in the shops, the catering establishments were very busy. The hygiene measures were also observed by visitors to all centers. There were no problems with mask refusers.
Dealer in Salzburg satisfied
In the federal state of Salzburg, people seemed to be more willing to buy. Johann Höflmaier, managing director of the trade division in the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce, was satisfied. In terms of the numbers, it is true that one does not lie in the same way as on a shopping Saturday, the frequency is more comparable to a Friday. With the unlock on Sunday he saw “a strong signal to be there for the customer again”, as he emphasized. You have to offer something again, “because the Christ Child is stationary and not online.” He described the Sunday opening as an “act of self-defense”. Trade is always wrongly portrayed as a driver of infection. All customers would wear the masks in an exemplary manner.
Markus Gratz, head of the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet, was also “on the whole satisfied” in the conversation. The trend would primarily be in the area of sport and beauty. Most of the dealers are satisfied, “it was definitely worth it,” said Gratz. Manuel Mayer, Center Manager at “Europark”, made a similar statement. From midday the influx increased steadily. “The dealers are happy for every day they are allowed to have open,” said Mayer.
Brigitte Hirschegger, businesswoman in Linzergasse in downtown Salzburg, was happy that the street was full of people with shopping bags again this week. The minus from the lockdown can no longer be made up. The regular customers have returned, but part of the business has been lost to online trading, but this was also the case before the pandemic. Regarding shopping outside of the city on Sunday, Hirschegger said: “Today it worked, but the Sunday opening should remain a one-off event.” As the operator of a small business, she is a big opponent of a general Sunday opening. For small businesses, it only pays off if you stand inside yourself, then you don’t have to pay an employee a Sunday bonus.
Lively crowds in Vienna
In Vienna, too, the opportunity for one-off Sunday shopping was eagerly used. After a leisurely start around noon, the rush was quite large in the afternoon. The Viennese commercial manager Margarete Gumprecht was satisfied. The hopes that were placed in the open Sunday have been fulfilled. Vienna. While in many other federal states the beautiful weather was apparently used more for skiing or walking, the Viennese flocked to the city. The frequency was high both in the city center and on Mariahilfer Strasse. The latter was closed to traffic along its entire length today. There were traffic jams in so many shops. Considerable queues in front of the cash registers had to be accepted in some fashion and toy stores or in bookstores. Shoes, sporting goods and Christmas decorations also seemed to be in great demand.
The picture was also unusual because bars, supermarkets and drugstores were not open. In the Gerngross department store, the relevant shops were secured by barriers and security personnel, as they are otherwise not physically separated from the rest of the house. This led to the fact that many a security employee was asked for information about where the nearest open supermarket was to be found. The fact that they weren’t allowed to unlock today didn’t seem to have got around to everyone.
Source: Nachrichten
