By Nina Adam

 

FRANKFURT--Germany's retailers made a "modest start" to the important Christmas-shopping season, according to the HDE retail association, amid heightened security following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month.

"In many city centers, customers are not really in Christmas spirit yet," the HDE's managing director said Sunday. "We have still room for improvement," Stefan Genth said. The trade group forecast a 2% nominal increase in sales in November-December from the same period last year.

This sober assessment comes after GfK market research group said Friday that Germans will spend less on Christmas presents this year but donate more to help authorities cope with the growing refugee crisis.

Many shopkeepers fear that concerns over a potential attack on home soil will keep people away from the high-street and the roughly 2,500 traditional Christmas markets that usually attract over 50 million visitors annually.

In a separate publication, Germany's statistical office said Monday that retail sales in October fell 0.4% from September, adjusted for seasonal swings and calendar effects. A poll of economists in The Wall Street Journal had forecast a monthly increase of 0.4%.

It was the third straight month of disappointing retail sales, but the figures could be revised in a second reading. Retail sales in Europe's largest economy were up 2.1% from October last year, adjusted for inflation.

 

Write to Nina Adam at nina.adam@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2015 03:17 ET (08:17 GMT)

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