STORY: Many people don’t have to work in the days between the years and have time for window shopping. The companies and business owners naturally hope that people will also buy something. According to the German trade association HDE, the actual Christmas business fell short of expectations. The main reasons for this are the rising energy prices and general price increases, says the HDE: Stefan Hertel, HDE spokesman: “We assume that we will see a minus of four percent this year compared to last year’s sales in November and December, adjusted for inflation This is of course due to the difficult situation of many consumers, who are confronted with enormous energy costs and therefore prefer to keep their money together and buy cheaper things because they are afraid of the next utility bill.” There are big differences within the individual sectors, says Hertel. It tends to be better for larger companies. In addition, there are still after-effects of the Christmas gifts between the years: “Overall, one has to say, the industry is rather disappointed and is now of course hoping for strong days between the years up to and including the turn of the year, because vouchers are still exchanged here one or two euros are added if the voucher was not high enough for the heart’s desire.Or cash gifts are of course redeemed, both of which are increasing enormously.Customers no longer want to do so many things wrong, no longer have to exchange so many things . And that’s why these two gifts are at the forefront.” As in previous years, according to an HDE survey, vouchers were the most popular Christmas present in 2022, followed by toys, books and stationery.