Enlarge image
Christmas offers in the shop window: More families will not be able to fulfill children's wishes this year
Photo:
Markus Scholz / dpa
Retail sentiment is near an all-time low around seven weeks before the festival.
Only last month things looked a bit worse, according to the index of the trade association.
These are the lowest values in the industry survey for years.
Sellers are still hoping for customers to return before Christmas.
But the sharp rise in prices has discouraged many people from going shopping.
The shops have recently been significantly less busy than, for example, in the summer.
In a survey by the Ifo Institute, almost half of the retailers surveyed reported fewer customers in their stores in October than in July.
Because of the high inflation, "low-income people in particular can afford less and are reluctant to buy," said the head of the Ifo surveys, Klaus Wohlrabe, in Munich.
Furniture stores in particular are suffering
Not only customers are missing.
According to Ifo, three quarters of retailers are still struggling with delivery bottlenecks.
The food retail sector was hit hardest: 90 percent of those surveyed reported problems.
At the hardware stores, 86 percent did not get all the goods ordered.
And the toy retailers are worried about the Christmas business, which is so important for them: 63 percent could not currently offer the full range.
According to the Ifo Institute, it is the furniture stores that feel most that customers go shopping less often: "80 percent of the companies surveyed reported that fewer customers came." In an emergency, the old couch will last a little longer.
The trade association is still trying to draw hope from the slight increase.
The months-long downward trend in consumer sentiment is no longer lasting, the trade association said, citing its latest industry survey.
For this purpose, 1600 people are asked monthly about their expectations for the next three months.
When it comes to their own income and economic development, people are therefore somewhat more optimistic than recently.
However, people also wanted to save more than before.
The verdict is correspondingly cautious: "There can be no talk of optimism," said the association.
"The coming weeks will show whether the reluctance to buy for the Christmas business will continue." In the event of a recession, consumption is likely to weaken further.
apr/dpa
