If you don't have all the Christmas presents together yet, you have to hurry or hope that all the orders will arrive on time. Basically, however, the delivery problems of retailers in the Christmas business have recently eased, reports the Munich-based ifo Institute.

According to an ifo survey of retailers in December, 62.2 percent of those surveyed complained about delivery bottlenecks. In November, 71.1 percent were still struggling with supply problems. This is a relaxation "just at the right time," says the head of the ifo surveys, Klaus Wohlrabe. "Nevertheless, there will still be gaps on the shelves," says Wohlrabe at the same time.

Consumer electronics products continue to be particularly badly affected. Here, 96.5 percent of the retailers surveyed report missing goods. Around 86 percent of those surveyed also complained about delivery problems with electrical household appliances, food and beverages and in the car trade. It is 75 percent for computers and software and 62 percent in the furniture trade.

The toy trade is a bright spot in the Christmas business: Here, just under a third of the companies report delivery problems. Only 36 percent have problems with clothing and only a good 29 percent of bicycle dealers. In the case of DIY stores, the proportion with replenishment problems fell below 50 percent to 46 percent now.

In addition, there is hope in many places that supply bottlenecks will continue to ease. The ifo Institute reports that the pessimism of retailers has also decreased with a view to the coming months.