The last week before the first Advent with the Black Friday offer day did not cause high spirits among retailers. According to a trend survey by the trade association, a narrow majority of retailers (51 percent) are dissatisfied with the sales development this week. Almost a third of those surveyed were satisfied with the sales, the trade association said on Sunday.

"Retail is feeling the uncertainty of consumers. But there is also a clear revival in business on the first weekend in Advent," said HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth, according to a statement. According to the association, retail companies in the consumer electronics, cosmetics and food sectors in particular reported good sales. The most popular products included smartphones, Christmas decorations, sweaters and knitwear, jewelery and vouchers.

Inner cities not yet recovered

The trade association sees one reason for the mixed course of the past week in the low number of customers in inner cities, who have not recovered after the Corona slump. The association expects total retail sales of more than 120 billion euros for November and December. That would be a real minus of four percent compared to the previous year.

According to the trade association, the trend survey of 400 retail companies was conducted between Friday morning (November 25) and Sunday morning (November 27). According to the association, there are 300,000 retail companies in Germany.