In the upcoming holidays, Germans are ready to shower each other with gifts
It is expected that the growth rate of the German economy in the last quarter of the outgoing year will rise again, and the pre-Christmas consumer boom will play a significant role in this. Spurred by stability in the labor market, confident wage growth, and extremely low opportunities to save money due to tiny bank interest rates, German consumers are preparing to spend. And spend. And spend.
As noted by "Russkaya Germaniya", pre-Christmas expectations of trade are extremely positive. On average, as experts from Germany's largest sociological research institute – the Nuremberg "Society for Consumer Research" (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung, GfK) found, this year 90 percent of residents of the Federal Republic plan to give Christmas gifts to family and friends. Almost every one of them is ready to spend 280 euros on these purposes – six euros more than a year earlier.
The most desired gifts are books, toys, clothing, gift certificates that recipients can use in stores at their own discretion, as well as cash: on cash gifts alone this Christmas and New Year, Germans will have to spend 3.5 billion euros. The total spending of German residents in the pre-holiday weeks will reach approximately 91 billion euros.
According to estimates by the German Retail Association (Handelsverband Deutschland), a professional association representing the interests of about 400,000 retail traders in the Federal Republic, over 12 billion will be spent online. Christmas gifts from Amazon and other giants of the online trading market have long ceased to be an exotic choice of advanced youth, but a traditional way to spend money for residents of Germany of various ages and backgrounds. Online shopping, including the purchase of gifts, is done by at least every second resident of Germany. The volume of pre-holiday online trade this year should grow by 12 percent, while stationary retail chains will account for only one percent growth.