There are only four days left until we say goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025. New Year’s Eve celebrations and New Year’s dinners are a fixed point in the year. This includes giving away lucky charms as well as a bottle of sparkling wine or enjoying special culinary specialties. In contrast to German retail, Austrian retail is optimistic about New Year’s Eve business – after a successful Christmas business with significantly higher customer frequencies and sales than initially expected.
„On average, Austrians are investing 126 euros per capita in New Year’s celebrations this year. Around 10 percent of the Christmas business is carried out in the last days of the old year – an important sales boost for local retailers.”sums up the managing director of the trade association Rainer Will summarizes the most important results of the new consumer check that the market researchers from Reppublika carried out for the trade association.
Federal state ranking: Highest spending in Vienna, Upper Austria and Salzburg
Retailers can expect sales of around 600 million euros from the New Year’s Eve and New Year celebrations. The food and beverage trade primarily benefits from this, but also other sectors such as the paper goods trade, hardware stores and fashion stores as well as various sales stands (e.g. for lucky charms). An average of 126 euros per person is spent on food and drink, party supplies, gifts, etc.
Per capita spending is highest in Vienna at 139 euros, followed by Upper Austria and Salzburg at 134 euros. Comparatively the least is spent on New Year’s Eve celebrations in Styria and Carinthia (112 euros). The regions of Lower Austria and Burgenland as well as Tyrol and Vorarlberg are roughly in line with the national average (120 euros each).
Every second person buys lucky charms and culinary specialties, and every seventh person buys pyrotechnics
And apart from the normal weekly shopping, what special items do you buy for the New Year’s Eve party or New Year’s dinner? Here are the top 10:
- Lucky charm (52%)
- Special foods (48%)
- Sparkling wine, champagne, other alcoholic drinks (47%)
- Special sweets (23%)
- Special non-alcoholic drinks (18%)
- Pyrotechnics, fireworks, New Year’s Eve bangers (14%)
- Decorative items (13%)
- Party items (confetti, party hats…) (12%)
- New clothes (6%)
- Perfumery/styling items (6%)
Incidentally, only 11% of those surveyed want to forgo any additional New Year’s Eve shopping.
At the turn of the year, optimism prevails
The HV Consumer Check also brings positive signals at the turn of the year: Optimism clearly predominates among the population: Exactly 20% are very confident about the year 2025, and a further 23% are “somewhat” confident. 15% are looking forward to the new year with concern, another 11% are “somewhat” worried. The remaining third (31%) are undecided.
New Year’s resolutions: focus on mindfulness
And what are the most popular New Year’s resolutions this year? 72% of respondents say they want to take more care of themselves in the next year. For 62%, the focus is on healthy eating, for 60% on exercise and sport. 58% want to find more time for friends and family in the next year.
When it comes to planned spending, caution only slightly prevails: While 55% say they want to pay more attention to their spending in 2025, 46% say they want to treat themselves more often next year.
„Austrians are heading into the next year with cautious optimism. This is good news for our crisis-hit economy. Household incomes rose significantly faster than inflation in 2024. So people have more money in their pockets again. After the savings rate in particular rose in 2024, the signs are good that in 2025 the economy and, above all, trade will also be able to benefit from the increased prosperity again“, says trade spokesman Rainer Will optimistic about the turn of the year.
Opening hours around the turn of the year
Domestic retailers are not only available for New Year’s Eve shopping between the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve. During this period, around a tenth of the Christmas business will be generated by redeeming recently received vouchers and cash gifts.
Changed opening times apply for the last day of the year: shops are generally allowed to be open until 5 p.m. and food stores are allowed to be open until 6 p.m. Candy shops, flower shops and New Year’s Eve goods stores are even allowed to stay open until 8 p.m. However, individual retailers can of course decide to close their branches earlier.
High quality fireworks for a safe night
For many people, it is difficult to imagine New Year’s Eve without fireworks. However, due to sustainability and animal welfare aspects, the vast majority of Austrians avoid it.
„If you want to ring in this New Year with your own fireworks display, you shouldn’t take the choice of pyrotechnics lightly. Purchase certified products from local retailers and avoid shopping abroad or at dubious online shops. The risk of injury is enormous with products that do not comply with the guidelines“, appeals Rainer Will, Managing director of the free and non-partisan trade association.