Christmas sales
As Christmas season is known in the retail trade , the merchandise sales in the weeks before Christmas . In Germany this time is traditionally mostly in the last months of the year, namely in November and December. In some retail areas, despite the relatively short period of time, this is often the best-selling and therefore financially most important period of the year.
Country-specific features
Germany
Typical seasonal products in Christmas sales
Some products such as Christmas trees , Christmas tree decorations and Christmas cribs are produced exclusively for Christmas. Some retailers like Käthe Wohlfahrt specialize in such products for Christmas. The approx. 5000 Christmas markets, the total annual turnover of which is estimated at 5 billion euros, are also an important economic factor in Germany . A gift retailer typically takes less than 10,000 euros in four weeks, while a mulled wine stand can bring it up to 100,000 euros.
sales
The annual turnover in German retail in these two months with the highest turnover has been around 70 billion euros since 2000. In the case of toys, watches and jewelry in particular, the Christmas business accounts for more than 25% of annual sales. In other segments such as perfumery, personal care products or clothing, on the other hand, the share of the Christmas business in annual sales is between 19% and 20% and thus only slightly above the share of one sixth of annual sales that would be expected if sales were evenly distributed over the twelve calendar months . The third weekend in December is often the busiest of the entire year.
Special opening times
The special role of the Christmas business in Germany can also be seen in the development of the statutory regulations on shop closing on weekends. From 1960 to 1996 shops were allowed to be open until 6:30 p.m. on the four Saturdays in Advent; on Saturdays other than the first Saturday of every month they had to close at 2 p.m. After the federal reform , the regulation of shop opening times was a matter for the federal states. While most federal states expressly prohibit opening Sundays in December, it was expressly permitted in Berlin until the Federal Constitutional Court declared this provision unconstitutional.
Criticism of the churches
Christian churches criticize the extent and scope of the Christmas business. The chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Nikolaus Schneider, criticized the early start of the retail trade in 2010: "If the retail trade starts at Christmas time at the end of September, something will break." The rhythm of the year, which is so important, would be broken like the seasons and ecclesiastical festivals. There is also “a quiet, dark season” and it is good “that we can then deal with our finiteness, our vulnerability”. The Sunday of the Dead is a final point. "Whenever there is always shopping, everything becomes a commodity."
France
In France, the Christmas business is concentrated in December, which is by far the month with the highest sales in retail there.
United States of America (USA)
In the USA, the holiday shopping season traditionally begins on Black Friday , the day after Thanksgiving . The sales on this day are considered an important economic indicator. In 2005, the National Retail Federation introduced the marketing term Cyber Monday , which refers to the Monday after Thanksgiving. This day is supposed to usher in the Christmas business in the Internet mail order business.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The big business with mulled wine , Berliner Morgenpost, December 13, 2009, accessed on December 24, 2015
- ↑ Time series of sales in German retail (official statistics) ( Memento from January 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Sales in the Christmas business by calendar year at the Central Association of German Retailers ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Financial Times Germany for Christmas business 2009 ( Memento from December 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Press release of the Federal Constitutional Court of December 1, 2009 on the opening of shops on the four Sundays of Advent in Berlin
- ↑ EKD boss annoyed by the early Christmas business ( memento from November 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Stern from November 11, 2010
- ↑ Time series of sales in French retail (official statistics) ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ US retail: Wall Street hopes for a good Black Friday , spiegel.de, November 22, 2009, accessed December 24, 2015
