On December 7th, trading was allowed to reopen after the three-week lockdown. So the balance of the Christmas business turns out after a week.
The shops in Austria have been reopening for a week. The time before Christmas is the most important in retail. But as Rainer Will, managing director of the trade association explains, the losses are still high.
“The first week since the reopening of the stationary non-food trade has clearly fallen short of the expectations of the domestic trade. Although in the last few days many traders have recorded similar sales as before the hard lockdown, the hoped-for catch-up effects can be achieved in most of them Segments out of the question, “says Will
On average, only a third of purchases in stationary retail were made up for. According to the trade association, two thirds of the losses from the second lockdown can no longer be made up. Monday, December 7th and Saturday, December 12th were the days with the highest sales. The public holiday of the Conception of Mary (December 8th) was rather disappointing. In any case, the rush of customers feared beforehand did not materialize.
A setback on the last Saturday of shopping was the failure of the cash registers. For about two hours at lunchtime, card payments didn't work across Austria. In many cases, customers have left the shops because they did not have enough cash with them for expensive products such as jewelry.
The almost two-hour failure resulted in high damage in many places on this important shopping day, which is difficult to make up, explained the affected retailers. The problems were due to a malfunction with an internet provider. As a result, payment transactions could temporarily not be processed correctly.
According to the trade association, the lack of gastronomy affects the shopping behavior of Austrians. The resulting reduced length of stay and compliance with the pandemic regulations lead to a decline in sales. However, as the trade association announced, everything is quiet and safe with the distance and access rules in the business premises. Customers also adhere to the mask requirement.
In terms of sales, however, there are differences in the various industries, as well as in the federal states. “Last week, the balance in the sporting goods / leisure sector was very good, especially in the fitness range. Toys, furniture, electronics, decorative and Christmas items have also worked very well in the last six days. The clothing / fashion, Sales of shoes and watches / jewelry were slightly below the previous year's level, “explains Rainer Will.
Online trading continues to benefit in almost all areas. “This year we are experiencing the strongest Christmas business ever in online trading,” said the head of the trade association. The parcel volumes are still enormous. The Austrian Post distributes more than a million parcels on some days, “Today” reports.
In a regional comparison, the trade association received positive sales reports from downtown Vienna, and the balance sheet in the provincial capitals was mixed. According to the trade association, the end of the Christmas business continues until the end of January, vouchers alone make up a good third of Christmas sales and 90 percent of them are only redeemed after New Year's Eve.
In its first forecast this year, the trade association expects a 20 percent decline in Christmas spending in December to 1.15 billion euros gross. “In the previous year we were able to turn over the record result of 1.43 billion euros. Money, vouchers and travel have been among the most popular Christmas gifts for years. Most of the latter will be eliminated this year, which could further increase the popularity of vouchers for domestic retailers,” said Want.
Due to the decline in sales, the trade association manager calls for an “Austria check” to be introduced. These vouchers with a value of 500 euros are to be issued to consumers and can only be redeemed in Austrian shops, “heute” reported.
In Germany, a tough lockdown will be imposed from Wednesday, and trade will also have to close. As SPÖ leader Pamela Rendi-Wagner explained on Sunday in the “press hour”, she considers a “Christmas rest” to be sensible if the number of infections does not drop below 1,000 by next week.
According to the current number of infections, a new lockdown also seems conceivable in Austria. The government does not want to commit itself at the moment, is watching the figures, and a decision could be made by Wednesday.
