The calm before the storm

It was just a few months ago that “growth” was the word on the lips of everyone connected with the retail market. But such enthusiasm has faded and been replaced by fears of much leaner days to come Mladen Petrov On the high street the best indicator of the mood of consumers are those few weeks of Christmas shopping. Falling consumption in the run up to Christmas in America was evident in 2006, while 2008 witnessed a further dip. Here in Poland, retailers celebrated another successful Christmas, as the Polish man-in-the-street again made the statement that he is not going to be a festive-season party-pooper in terms of shopping. A TNS OBOP public opinion poll reveals that the average Pole planned a budget of around PLN 700 for presents and other holiday-related spending, resulting in more than PLN 20 bln actually being spent on Christmas shopping. Such volumes must weaken the case of those who claim that a new thrifty attitude has already set in.Roman Skowroński, Simon I