The economic slowdown is resulting in a gloomy mood in German retail. The industry assessed its business situation as negative on balance in August, as the Munich Ifo Institute announced on Friday. The corresponding indicator fell from minus 2.3 to minus 7.1 points compared to the previous month.
Retailers’ business expectations for the next few months are therefore also rather pessimistic at minus 34.3 points – this against the background that for many branches of retail, the weeks before Christmas are the most important of the whole year.
“The further slowdown in the economy is hitting retailers, who have recently been burdened by weak consumer demand,” said Ifo scientist Patrick Höppner.
The institute’s economic indicators are formed from the difference between positive and negative assessments that companies report to the economic research institute in the monthly survey.
According to Ifo, delivery problems have steadily decreased. In August, 34.8 percent of retailers reported replenishment problems, after 36.6 percent in July. (dpa)