German retailers expect supply problems to continue for a long time. On average, they assumed 11.5 months in June, according to a survey by the Munich Ifo Institute published on Wednesday. "The delivery problems have become an ongoing problem for retailers"said Ifo expert Klaus Wohlrabe. "This year, too, there will be gaps on the shelves at Christmas."
Bicycle dealers are hit the hardest. They assume that the bottlenecks will last the longest at 18 months. At the same time, 100 percent of the companies in this group stated that not all ordered goods could be delivered. In retail as a whole, this rate was 75.7 percent – a slight decrease compared to May.
Dealers of electrical household appliances are also particularly frequently affected by delivery problems with a good 98 percent, car dealers and hardware stores with a good 90 percent each, as well as consumer electronics and furniture with a good 88 percent each. The situation eased in the food trade: in May almost all companies were still complaining about bottlenecks. Now it was 77 percent. In the clothing trade, the share fell to 54 percent.
Grocery and clothing: shortest duration expected in case of delivery problems
Grocery and clothing are also the two areas where the shortest duration of supply problems is expected at 8.2 and 9 months. After the bicycle trade, the longest bottlenecks are expected in the toy trade with 14 and electrical household appliances with 13.7 months. (dpa)