Germany’s retail trade currently sees little momentum in the ongoing Advent season. According to a report by the German Retail Federation (HDE), published on Sunday, retailers did not notice a significant improvement in comparison to the previous week, as of the first week before the second Advent.
HDE estimates that a total of 14 billion euros were spent in retail in the first week before the second Advent. “The Advent season is only slowly gaining momentum,” said HDE’s Managing Director Stefan Gent. “The past week before the second Advent was as disappointing as the previous one.”
The survey reveals that retailers in the cosmetics and drugstore, book, technology, and food retail sectors are generally pleased with the second Advent week. In contrast, the shoe and clothing trade is disappointed, particularly in inner-city areas, where it experienced a weaker development compared to the previous week.
Only about a quarter of the surveyed companies are satisfied with the current course of the Christmas business, mostly smaller businesses. Retailers are now focusing on the upcoming Advent weeks, in which the Christmas business may still pick up speed until the holidays, as Gent said.