FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's retail industry expects Christmas sales to rise 1 percent from last year, a survey conducted by a trade group after the first of the season's four shopping weekends showed.
Shoppers look set to spend 74.7 billion euros this season, defying the economic crisis, the retail association HDE said, citing a poll of its members.
"The retail industry has managed a good start into a solid Christmas business," HDE's spokesman Hubertus Pellengahr told Reuters. "Consumers are unfazed by the bad news."
Premium items such as jewellery and mobile phones with navigation features were among the most sought-after, he said.
The Chief Executive of Douglas, which operates book stores, jewelleries and perfume shops, told the business newspaper Euro am Sonntag on Sunday that customer numbers were clearly on the rise.
Metro, owner of department store chain Kaufhof, said Nov. 19 that the Christmas shopping season was likely to see "stable" sales this year.