Majority of traders dissatisfied with the week before the second Advent
After the Christmas business recently picked up speed, in the week before the second Advent, only just under a quarter of retailers in Germany were satisfied with pre-Christmas sales. As a current trend survey by the German Trade Association (HDE) among more than 350 retail companies shows, almost 60 percent of those surveyed are dissatisfied with the sales development in the past week.
“The week before the second Advent was noticeably weaker in retail than the first week of Advent. Many retailers are now pinning their hopes on the final spurt before the holidays,” said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth. According to the HDE survey, one reason for the weak development is low customer frequency, especially in city centers. More than two thirds of inner-city retailers report that visitor numbers have fallen compared to the previous year. However, trading companies based in the main business locations are more satisfied with Saturday.
Overall, only 15 percent of the retailers surveyed are satisfied with how the Christmas business has gone so far. Sales impulses have recently been generated for retail companies in the areas of food, shoes, sporting goods and household goods. Retailers are looking forward to the coming weeks of Christmas business with subdued expectations. According to the HDE survey, only just under a fifth of those surveyed expect positive developments in the next few weeks.
“The Christmas business got off to a good start in some areas of retail. Overall, the traditionally highest-sales time of the year still falls short of expectations,” says Genth. In the second half of December, however, the ever-approaching festive season generally provided additional sales impetus. “If the festive mood increases in the near future, it can noticeably boost Christmas business,” Genth continued.
For this year's Christmas business in November and December, the HDE forecasts total sales of just over 120 billion euros. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a nominal increase in sales of 1,5 percent.
