German shoppers upbeat as holiday season nears

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German shoppers are heading into the annual holiday season feeling slightly more upbeat after Europe’s top economy narrowly avoided tipping in recession, a forward-looking monthly survey said. The GfK institute’s confidence barometer climbed to 9.7 points for December, up 0.1 points from November’s three-year low, it said in a statement.

“Consumers are therefore optimistic about the upcoming holiday season, one of the busiest times of year for a number of retail industries such as consumer electronics and toys,” said the pollster, following a survey of some 2,000 people. December’s rebound was driven by a steep rise in confidence in future economic activity, after Germany earlier this month defied expectations to post 0.1 percent growth in the third quarter. Many observers had predicted that the German economy would shrink for a second consecutive quarter this year, meeting the definition of a technical recession.

GfK said an apparent easing of tensions in the USChina trade conflict and hopes that December’s UK election would end some Brexit uncertainty had contributed to the more optimistic mood. The survey also found that Germans were more upbeat than last month about their income expectations, buoyed by high wages and a healthy labor market. Respondents said they were slightly less likely to splash out on large items than a month ago but the overall shopping mood remains “at a very high level”, GfK said, as record-low interest rates make saving less attractive.