Shopping in Corona times
Trade association: 2G regulations spoil Christmas business
Retailers fear the Christmas business due to the 2G regulation. Photo: Nicole Eyberger / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In most shops, only those who have been vaccinated or have recovered are allowed to enter. Retailers consider this unnecessary and complain about a drop in sales. He also has a possible solution ready.
From the point of view of the German Retail Association (HDE), the 2G regulations spoil the important Christmas business for retailers. HDE managing director Stefan Genth criticized the business with items that are not used every day.
According to a recent survey by the HDE among 1,100 dealers, more than 70 percent of the companies viewed the remaining days of the year negatively. Many have already written off the Christmas business.
“What should be the positive highlight of the year is now often a bottomless pit,” said Genth. Dealers with 2G access restrictions therefore lost almost a third of their pre-crisis sales in the past week. Things are only going well in food retailing and online.
The association demanded consequences from the dramatic development. Shopping with a mask, distance and hygiene concept is a safe matter, said the chief executive. “2G when shopping does not help us in the fight against the pandemic,” he emphasized. The current regulations scared off customers and required a high level of manpower.
The ribbon regulation must be approved nationwide, he demanded. According to this, every customer only has to be checked once for 2G (vaccinated or recovered) and with the ribbon received, he would have access to all shops on that day. In addition, in retail – as in local public transport with the 3G rule (vaccinated, recovered or tested) – random checks should be sufficient.
The real estate group Deutsche Euroshop, which specializes in shopping centers, also spoke of a difficult Christmas business. “Without 2G, the frequencies were last at a good 75 percent of the pre-Corona level, and sales were around 90 percent. These numbers will now fall in the middle of the all-important Christmas business, ”said CEO Wilhelm Wellner of“ Wirtschaftswoche ”. Due to the high level of personnel and administrative effort, attempts are being made for the centers to find solutions and get them approved. This includes the so-called ribbon solution, in which “visitors can, for example, provide their 2G proof at a central point in the center and then – equipped with a wristband similar to a club hotel – can enter all shops undisturbed”.