WKÖ representative Trefelik was also pleased with the “good weather” on Advent shopping Saturday. The shopping streets in the state and district capitals as well as the Christmas markets were well attended. The recent KV salary settlement for retail employees will also bring calm to the Christmas business, said the WKÖ trade chairman to the APA. He was “very happy” about that.
“The first weekend of Advent was a strong sign of life for Austrian trade and a promising start to the Christmas business in 2025,” said trade association managing director Rainer Will in a press release. The Black Friday and Black Week offers would also ensure “excellent customer frequency in stationary retail”.
According to the trade association, toys, books, perfumes and electrical products were in particularly high demand. Fashion retailers were also well attended. “Last-minute” Advent calendars and chocolate Santas were particularly popular in the grocery store.
The 16 domestic shopping centers of the Spar European Shopping Centers (SES) from Vienna to Vorarlberg were also heavily frequented on the first Saturday in Advent. “We count around 30 percent more visitors on this day than on normal Saturdays,” said SES CEO Christoph Andexlinger to the APA. Textile, sports and shoe retailers would feel the positive effect of the winter weather. “The pleasing response and, above all, the good visitor frequencies make us very confident for the next few weeks,” said the boss of the Spar shopping center subsidiary.
The retail researchers at the Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) are assuming Christmas spending of 2.35 billion euros this year, compared to 2.33 billion euros last year. The Christmas business continues to be the domain of traditional shops. According to JKU retail researchers, around 80 percent of the forecast Christmas spending this year will come from stationary retail. Online retail only accounts for 20 percent of gift spending.
The importance of Christmas business has declined in some industries. For book and toy retailers as well as perfumeries, Christmas continues to be particularly important for annual sales, explained the WKÖ trade chairman.
