Strong frequency: Retailers are satisfied with the 4th shopping Saturday

There were a lot of strolling tourists and numerous locals at the APA local inspection in downtown Vienna on Saturday afternoon. The shops on Graben, Kohlmarkt and Kärntner Straße were well attended. In Salzburg and Tyrol, intermittent sunshine and relatively warm temperatures attracted many Christmas shoppers to the shopping streets.

Shopping centers report more purchases during Advent

The 16 Spar European Shopping Centers (SES) shopping centers from Vienna to Vorarlberg are also satisfied with the Christmas business so far. “Black Friday, the first and today’s fourth Saturday of Advent, and December 8th were among the strongest shopping days of the season so far,” said SES. “The number of visitors is at the high level of the previous year, and the number of checkout transactions in our malls has increased,” said SES boss Christoph Andexlinger. The remaining days in December – both before and after Christmas – are “now the crucial ones for stationary retailers, restaurants and service providers”.

Retail is expected to grow by 1 percent in 2025, adjusted for inflation

The economic researchers at Wifo are forecasting a nominal sales increase of 3.2 percent for Austrian retailers this year, and an inflation-adjusted increase in sales of 1 percent. After the two years of recession in 2023/2024, Austria’s economy is expected to grow by 0.5 percent in real terms this year, according to forecasts.

In mid-December, Wifo and the trade association assumed that Christmas-related additional sales would amount to a nominal 1.19 billion euros in 2025. That would be a 2 percent increase in sales compared to last year’s Christmas shopping. Thanks to the voucher business and the exchange phase in stationary retail, the Christmas business is still having a noticeable impact in January. Only when the gift cards are redeemed for goods or services is this recorded as sales by the retailer or service provider.