Economy: Buying mood in Germany during the Christmas business in the basement

Economy
Buying mood in Germany for the Christmas business in the basement

The effects of the fourth wave of the corona pandemic completely spoiled the Germans’ mood to buy before Christmas. Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa

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The fourth wave of pandemics is raging, the Omikron variant is just around the corner and now the prices are galloping away. Shortly before Christmas, people in Germany have little desire to go shopping.

The effects of the fourth wave of the corona pandemic completely ruined the buying mood for people in Germany before Christmas.

The high inflation does the rest. “Consumer sentiment in Germany will cool down noticeably in December,” judges the Nuremberg-based consumer research company GfK on the basis of its monthly forecast. “Both economic and income expectations as well as the propensity to buy are falling significantly,” sum up the consumer researchers.

“High incidences due to the fourth wave of the corona pandemic with further restrictions as well as significantly increased prices are increasingly affecting the consumer climate,” said GfK consumer expert Rolf Bürkl. “In particular, the 2G rule for large parts of the retail trade deal a heavy blow to the Christmas business,” he said. The prospects for the beginning of the new year are also subdued against the background of the rapid spread of the Omikron variant.

Uncertain prospects

The researchers currently do not trust themselves to make a longer-term prognosis. “The outlook for the consumer economy for the coming year is primarily dependent on the further course of the pandemic,” said Bürkl. If the pandemic can be combated quickly and successfully, restrictions could be loosened to a greater extent – then consumption will recover quickly. “If, however, the infection rate increases again in the further course, the upswing will be further delayed,” said Bürkl.

Economic sentiment among Germans fell to an eight-month low in December. Most recently, expectations of the economy were lower in April, according to the GfK study. The background is also the persistent problems with the supply chains in the industry. The prospects for income have also fallen for the third time in a row – for many people, the question of short-time work is once again in the room. However, the prospects are still better than last year – at that time there was lockdown in Germany.

The propensity to buy – i.e. the desire to buy – is currently not very pronounced. In addition to the corona pandemic, the high prices – for example for energy and food – are putting pressure on the buying mood. Due to the 2G regulations, the group of those who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered is completely eliminated for stationary retail. For the vaccinated, the joy of the pre-Christmas shopping experience is massively dampened by the regulations.

dpa

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