German retailers more pessimistic in holiday season, Ifo says
Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 20, 2024

Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
Published by Uma Rajagopal
Posted on December 20, 2024

By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) – The business climate index in Germany’s retail sector fell slightly in normally consumer spending-heavy December, as retailers assess their current situation as somewhat worse than in November, the Ifo Institute said on Friday.
Business expectations for the coming months also declined slightly, Ifo added.
This year was very challenging for the retail sector and the overall economic environment is likely to remain difficult in 2025, “even though many retailers are hoping for an improvement in consumer sentiment,” said Ifo expert Patrick Hoeppner.
Although the business climate in the consumer goods industry initially improved in the first half of 2024, things went downhill in the second half of the year, Ifo surveys showed.
“In addition to weakening demand, the shortage of skilled workers remained a pressing problem for many retailers in 2024,” said Hoeppner.
The outlook for 2025 is mixed. Rising disposable income could provide positive momentum, but economic policy uncertainty is continuing to weigh on both retailers and consumers, Ifo added.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Editing by Andrey Sychev)