There were great fears in retail that this year’s Christmas business would not go so well due to inflation – after all, the past pandemic years have been a major challenge. “After a mixed start, the Austrian retailers are satisfied with the final sprint in the Christmas business,” says Rainer Will, Managing Director of the Retail Association.
“The mood improved when the Christmas money was received and the sales made have also increased noticeably since then.” The Christmas markets have also proved to be a crowd puller for shopping streets and town centers this year. It is noteworthy, however, that almost a tenth of the population have completely given up buying gifts. In the year of the inflation crisis, vouchers and gifts of money were more popular than ever before.
The dealers are likely to achieve the additional sales of 1.36 billion euros net forecast for December, which will level off at the level of the previous year’s sales adjusted for inflation and would be well behind the sales of the years before the crisis. “The high volume of vouchers gives us hope for good business in January,” says Will.
About sales of the pandemic years
According to surveys, people were initially skeptical, said Ernst Wiesinger, chairman of the trade division in the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce. Fortunately, however, everything turned out differently. “The majority of dealers are very, very satisfied. And that’s not just the case in individual sectors, but in all sectors,” says Wiesinger. When asked about inflation, Wiesinger said that people did not feel they had to save because of the relatively high level of collective agreements.
One cannot currently speak of a loss of purchasing power. Compared to 2019, the year before the CoV pandemic, sales are higher in most sectors this year. It was bought more consciously, but ultimately what was chosen was what you had in mind – more about that at ooe.ORF.at.
opening hours
Shops are open as usual on December 23rd. On December 24th most close at 1pm. Natural flower and confectionery shops are open until 6 p.m., the Christmas tree trade is open until 8 p.m. in many locations.
More Conscious Shopping
The situation in Vienna is similar. “People look more at the price this year, think more carefully about who they are giving presents to and buy more consciously overall,” says Margarete Gumprecht, head of the trade department at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. In the immediate family is currently not saved. According to Gumprecht, children in particular would receive rich gifts this year. In retail, however, the purchase of small “occasional gifts” was missed.
Five instead of four weeks of Advent would have made it possible for the Viennese to do their Christmas shopping stress-free, she said in an interview with Radio Vienna. On average, around 330 euros are spent on Christmas presents. Purchasing power is therefore relatively high, but it has not yet come close to the pre-crisis level – more on this in wien.ORF.at.
Lower frequency compensated by higher amounts
According to retailers, Christmas gifts are also being bought in a particularly targeted and conscious manner in Lower Austria this year, according to the President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Wolfgang Ecker. But you can get over that: “It means that the frequency in the shops is a little lower. However, this is offset by higher amounts.”
A study carried out by the research institute KMU Forschung Austria at the beginning of Advent confirms this assessment. According to this, consumers in Lower Austria would buy an average of seven gifts, spending around 300 euros on them – more on this at noe.ORF.at.
Final sprint “very important”
In the food retail sector, the trade association expects sales on December 23rd and 24th to be up to 40 percent higher than on average shopping days. “These two days are very, very important because now the groceries are bought and, above all, spontaneous purchases happen,” says Andrea Gottweis, division chairwoman for trade in the Burgenland Chamber of Commerce.
According to surveys, the people of Burgenland are spending an average of 310 euros on Christmas presents this year. According to Gottweis, sales in this year’s Christmas business would correspond to those of the previous year – more on this in burgenland.ORF.at.
Christmas sales are extended
According to the trade association, business traditionally shifts more to stationary retail in the very last shopping days before Christmas. However, the Christmas business is not over after December 24th.
Around ten percent would still be generated between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. In the next two weeks, vouchers are traditionally redeemed and goods exchanged, and the sales will probably fill the shopping streets again.
