Demos, strikes and price increases. The omens for the period of the year with the highest sales are bad this year. The “Krone” asked around.
Everything is prepared for the Christmas business. The trade is in the starting blocks, even Mrs Holle played along and ensured snow-covered shopping streets in the city. Whatever could have caused the start to be subdued, as became apparent from the local inspection ‘Krone’ on Vienna’s Mariahilfer Straße. There were also special circumstances on the first shopping Saturday.
After all, warning strikes in the retail sector are taking place in our country for the first time – and especially at the most important and selling time of the year. Warning strikes took place in more than 300 stores across Austria, with employees having to stop work for a few hours. The Thalia bookstore on Mariahilfer Straße was also affected by the strike measures. There were restrictions for customers from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The Viennese showed understanding for the staff strikes. But how do retailers view the coming weeks?
“There will be no Christmas like then”
“We are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Christmas activities in Vienna. Of course, inflation and consumer reluctance play a role,” says Margarete Gumprecht, trade representative at the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.
That means: The Christ Child must save money this year. While Viennese were prepared to spend around 330 euros on their loved ones last year, this year it will be an average of 290 euros. 21 percent do not want to spend more than 100 euros on all gifts, while five percent even expect a budget of more than 800 euros.
Nevertheless, Gumprecht exudes a cautious optimism about Christmas as a celebration of family and giving. But those who wanted to do their first Christmas shopping in Vienna’s largest shopping street on Saturday were thwarted again in the afternoon.
Another large demonstration in the busy store
As almost every week since the outbreak of war in Israel and the Gaza Strip, a large demonstration started at 2 p.m. on Christian-Broda-Platz, leading via MaHü to Ballhausplatz. Thousands of loud demonstrators mingled with passersby. Walking and shopping – almost impossible.
“The demos have an impact on trade,” says Rainer Will of the trade association. It will be problematic if the protest marches repeatedly paralyze the same streets and place a heavy financial burden on businesses there. This is even more true during the Christmas period. Online retailers from third countries would again benefit from this, says Will.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
