Markets increased over the weekend in Germany, which followed Black Friday, according to the data provided by the retail companies. Germans bought smart phones, Christmas decorations, sweaters and gift certificates.
Retail businesses across Europe fear this year’s Christmas shopping season could be the worst for at least 10 years as consumers cut spending due to double-digit inflation and rising energy bills.
“Business clearly picked up this weekendsaid Stefan Ged, director general at retail trade association HDE. HDE expects retail sales to total more than €120bn in November and December, down 4% in real terms from the same period last year.
“Business activities at Christmas have been affected by the energy crisis. “Retailers are feeling consumer uncertainty,” Gedt said.
Just over half the retailers in the Germany said in an HDE survey that they were disappointed with the performance of sales in the week beginning November 21. About 30% of the 400 businesses surveyed said they were satisfied with sales last week. 20% of respondents said they were optimistic about sales between now and the end of the year.
Source: News Beast
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