Christmas spending forecasted growth in Europe 2017-2020
In 2020 Christmas season, value of retail sales, both online and in-store was forecast to decline by almost 20 percent in Belgium, the highest among the European countries examined. Forecast sales change in 2020 was the least negative for Germany, with a decline of only 3.8 percent, while European average fared around a negative rate of 12 percent. The drastic decline was due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing lockdown measures.