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The reopening of business on Monday drew many people from all over Austria to the shopping streets and shopping centers. The great rush did not come.
The first shopping day after the total lockdown ensures less rush of customers than previously feared. Shopping center operators and retailers in several federal states reported brisk activity, but there cannot be an excessive rush. According to Rainer Will, managing director of the trade association, this is partly due to the fact that the restaurant, as a major source of frequency, must remain closed until at least January 7. On December 8, however, he expected queues in front of hairdressers, furniture, textile and electrical stores.
There were queues in the center of Vienna on Monday. Mariahilfer Strasse was very busy at lunchtime, customers were queuing in front of a mobile phone provider and a sports store, but with mask and distance. The securities ensured that the process went smoothly, as revealed by a local SN inspection in Vienna. The inner Mariahilfer Straße and a section of Neubaugasse will be closed to vehicular traffic on Tuesday and the next Saturdays in Advent. This should create more room for the dreaded crowds.
Shopping day in Salzburg: busy, but neat
In Salzburg stores, the frequency of a purchase on Saturday or December 8 until the afternoon was a bit off. As Europark itself announced, grocery stores, books and decorations were particularly in demand on the first opening day. Consumer electronics, perfume and toy stores are also making positive gains. Frequencies in the early afternoon were mostly well below the maximum allowed values. At the same time, the number of security guards who meticulously adhered to distance regulations increased.
SN / europark / wildbild
The Salzburger Europark was well attended, but was not overrun by customers.
Furniture stores in Eugendorf, not far from the state capital, were also busy. “He’s quite busy,” confirmed a security employee, as one of his colleagues made sure he entered through the revolving door in an orderly fashion. Inside, however, the race seemed to have balanced quite well, with no sign of the crowd. A police patrol car also made a drive in front of the entrance; so far there has been no need to intervene.
The Linzergasse, next to Getreidegasse, the second central shopping street in the state capital, was very busy in the late morning. “The frequency is completely fine,” explained Nicolaus Lachmayer, managing director of the music store. Although the relatively narrow store only allows a few customers at a time, “we have enough to do today. The phone also rings during a tour and orders arrive by email.” Two bookstores also reported great interest on Monday. On the other hand, the mood was clouded among businessmen, who make a large part of their sales with tourists. “The pre-Christmas season is just one thing. I know I will barely bill in January and February without tourists,” said the owner of a jewelry and souvenir shop.
Typical Christmas gifts were bought mainly in Innsbruck and Upper Austria.
A similar picture emerged in Innsbruck on Monday: While electricity, book and craft stores were well-attended, few in the Tyrolean capital went to buy shoes, jewelry or textiles. Also in Upper Austria, customers mainly went to DIY stores, garden centers and decoration stores. PlusCity in Pasching, for example, was very busy on a Monday morning, but was never crowded, as the spokespersons noted. The shops with typical Christmas gifts (perfumeries, bookstores) were the most frequented there. The stores are well prepared: there are boards in front of many stores that specify how many customers can enter and administrators monitor the secure process.
Vorarlberg and Styria: no battle for parking spaces, shopping with a mask
In Vorarlberg, the largest shopping center, the Messepark in Dornbirn, he had many visitors, but he was in no rush. Unlike on Advent weekends in “normal” years, there was no scramble for parking spaces and no dense crowd in the hallways. A remarkably large number of security guards kept an eye on the fact that purchases were made in an orderly manner. As an on-site inspection showed, the buyers were very disciplined anyway. The use of mouth and nose protection turned out to be routine, and hand sanitizing rooms were also widely used. Lines formed in front of some smaller stores so that there were not too many people in the commercial premises at the same time.
In Styria, the stressful Christmas business of previous years was little noticed. A local inspection in Graz’s largest department stores, Kastner and Öhler, showed: shoppers were wearing masks, no people, no agitation. Due to the open window and previously closed stores, many customers were out on the streets and in stores, “but there was no massive rush,” said division president Gerhard Wohlmuth.
Those: SN / Apa
