Almost half of the retailers surveyed by the Ifo Institute report fewer customers in their stores, and three quarters were still struggling with delivery bottlenecks in October. Because of the high inflation, “low-income people in particular can afford less and are reluctant to make purchases,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of the Ifo surveys, on Monday in Munich.
The food retail sector is said to be most affected by delivery bottlenecks: 90 percent of those surveyed report problems. Due to the large and diverse range, “some products will be missing on the shelves there,” said Wohlrabe.
At the hardware stores, 86 percent did not get all the goods ordered. And the toy retailers are worried about the Christmas business, which is so important for them: 63 percent could not currently offer the full range. According to the Ifo Institute, the fact that customers go shopping less often is felt most by the furniture stores: “80 percent of the companies surveyed reported that fewer customers came.” (dpa)