Christmas Business Performs Better in Austria than in Germany

According to a flash survey by the Austrian Trade Association, the second Advent weekend was "much better than expected" for national retail. On average, the number of visitors in Austrian shopping centres and shopping streets was up to 20 percent higher than last year, according to a statement by the Trade Association on Saturday evening.

Christmas Business: Huge Influx in Vienna City Centre

"We couldn't quite match the sensational first Advent weekend, which coincided with Black Friday this year - but the second shopping Saturday was also top," said the managing director of the Trade Association, Rainer Will, in a statement on Sunday. The flow of visitors in the Vienna city centre was particularly enormous. "In many district capitals, customers combined their Christmas shopping with a visit to the Advent market," said Will. Retail in Lower and Upper Austria was satisfied with the second shopping Saturday before Christmas. In the Shopping City South (SCS) in Vösendorf (Mödling district), there was a similarly high customer rush as on the first Advent weekend, according to General Manager Zsolt Juhasz. Karl Ungersbäck, managing director of the trade division in the Lower Austria Chamber of Commerce, reported a "quite good frequency". Many Christmas markets were also well attended.

Disappointing Sales Development in German Shoe and Clothing Trade during Christmas Business

As a current trend survey by the German Trade Association (HDE) among 318 companies shows, retailers do not see any noticeable improvement. According to HDE estimates, a total of 14 billion euros were turned over in retail in the week before the second Advent. Especially companies in the drugstore and cosmetics sector as well as the book, technology and food trade are satisfied with the second Advent week according to the survey. However, the shoe and clothing trade, which felt the weaker development in the city centre locations compared to the previous week, was disappointed. In recent days, many customers were particularly drawn to the urban suburbs and district centres. "Depending on the trade sector and location, the picture is very mixed again this week." Only about a quarter of the companies surveyed were satisfied with the course of the Christmas business so far, it was said. This applies especially to larger companies. For this year's Christmas business in November and December, retail expects a total turnover of 121.4 billion euros - this would be 1.3 percent more than a year ago.

(APA/Red)

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