German shops hit hard: Economic survey shows troubling retail numbers
New data shows German retail sector facing serious problems as consumer spending drops. Political shake-up and international trade issues add more pressure to Europeʼs biggest economy
German retail sector hits a rough patch as Ifo Instituteʼs latest survey points to growing problems. About 13.8% of shops (up from last years 10.3%) say they might need to close-down‚ making retail the most affected business area
The numbers come during a shaky time for German politics — Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces big problems after letting his finance-minister go which led to coalition break-up. The next monthʼs confidence vote dont look good; experts think new elections will happen early next year
Economic troubles spread wider than just shops: 7.3% of all German companies (thats more than last year) worry about staying in business. Main issues include: higher worker pay-costs; big energy bills; tough foreign competition. Klaus Wohlrabe from Ifo says company shut-downs will likely keep going up
Manufacturing sector shows similar signs of trouble — 8.6% report serious issues (compared to 6.4% last year). Car-makers got hit extra hard; their sales dropped to covid-like levels. Business confidence took another hit after US election results‚ dropping to 7.4 (way below summerʼs peak of 47.5) as people worry about new trade rules
The whole situation gets more complex with China trade problems: German companies fear new US tax plans (10-20% on imports‚ up to 60% for Chinese goods) could mess-up international business even more
