German pre-Christmas shopping picks up over Black Friday weekend

Retailers across Europe fear the overall Christmas trading season could be the worst in at least a decade as shoppers cut back, hit by double-digit inflation and soaring energy bills. "Business clearly picked up at the weekend," Stefan Genth, General Manager of Germany's HDE retailers' association said in a statement, after shops had a muted week.

Germans snapped up smartphones, Christmas decorations, sweaters and other knitwear, jewellery and gift vouchers in a pick-up in shopping over the Black Friday weekend, retailers said. Retailers across Europe fear the overall Christmas trading season could be the worst in at least a decade as shoppers cut back, hit by double-digit inflation and soaring energy bills.

"Business clearly picked up at the weekend," Stefan Genth, General Manager of Germany's HDE retailers' association said in a statement, after shops had a muted week. HDE expects retail sales to total more than 120 billion euros ($125 billion) in November and December, down 4% in real terms from the year-earlier period.

"The Christmas business is marked by the energy crisis. Retailers are feeling the uncertainty of consumers," Genth said, with inner-city retailers still feeling the impact of COVID-19. Just over half of retailers said in a survey by HDE that they were dissatisfied with the development of sales in the week starting Nov. 21. About 30% of the 400 businesses that took part in the survey said they were satisfied with sales last week.

Only 20% said they were optimistic about sales between now and the end of the year. ($1 = 0.9598 euros)