Corona is slowing down inner cities: Many retailers see black for Christmas

Sunday 29th November 2020

The first weekend in Advent leaves the retailers in the city centers in particular expecting nothing good for their Christmas business. A survey shows that almost half now have to fear for their existence. But online trade and home improvement stores are flourishing.

In the Advent season, many retailers are pessimistic about the Christmas business, which is so important for the industry. According to a survey by the German Retail Association (HDE) among 550 companies, more than half of those surveyed expect significantly fewer customers and declining sales for December. "The prospects for the Christmas business this Corona year are worryingly bad, especially for many inner-city retailers and especially the fashion houses there," said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth. The survey shows that 38 percent of retail companies overall and 45 percent of downtown retailers see their existence threatened.

Around half (52 percent) of the companies expect significant revenue and frequency losses after the partial lockdown has been extended into December. Six out of ten retailers surveyed (62 percent) are pessimistic about the further course of the Christmas business. "November and December are usually the busiest months of the year for many retailers. If these sales fail now, many businesses will be in trouble."

Criticism of the square meter rule for shops

According to the HDE, the business with household goods, home improvement supplies, furnishings and food is currently doing satisfactorily for many retailers, in some cases even very well. And online retailing is also benefiting and is likely to increase its sales in November and December by a third compared to the previous year. In the week before the first Advent, Christmas decorations and Advent calendars in particular sold well. Overall, the HDE is forecasting an increase in sales of 1.2 percent within the year to almost 104 billion euros for November and December. "Even in the corona crisis, people buy a lot of Christmas gifts, but they buy them online more often than usual," explained Genth.

In NRW the empty pedestrian zones lead to criticism of the federal government's new square meter rule. Cologne's independent mayor Henriette Reker said on ZDF with reference to the tightening of admission to shops: "I would have found it better to stick to the regulations, as I have the impression that the distance is better to regulate in shops than on the street." The federal and state governments want to allow fewer people per square meter in the shops.