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Berlin (dpa) - The tentative opening of the first retail stores after months of closing in the pandemic turned out to be mixed on Monday.
Dealers who have already been allowed to open completely reported a high level of customer interest.
According to the cities, however, the first easing did not lead to a rush, and there was no shopping tourism.
There was often reluctance, and in some regions dealers and customers complained about confusing rules.
Since Monday, stores in the federal states, regions and cities where the so-called seven-day incidence is stable at below 50 have been allowed to reopen completely - but subject to conditions such as a mask requirement and a limit on the number of customers.
If the incidence is up to 100, you can make an appointment to shop.
There is great concern in retail that if the incidence figure rises, stores will have to close again after a short period of time.
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In Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, it has been possible to shop with an appointment since Monday, in Saarland, depending on the area, with more customers than before.
Appointment shopping (“Click & Meet”) is also possible in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein, the regional figures decide whether retailers in some regions can do without appointments.
In Thuringia, the opening of the retail trade has been postponed for the time being due to an incidence of over 100.
Monday was a public holiday in Berlin.
In the city centers, the easing made itself felt after observations by the company Hystreet, which specializes in measuring customer frequencies.
Almost everywhere the number of passers-by was above that of Monday last week.
In the afternoon there was an increase between 20 and 100 percent.
How customers get to appointments with “Click & Meet” depends on the business.
Many companies offer online reservations or publish phone numbers on the Internet for locations that are opened.
The department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof offered shopping times of one, two or four hours on Monday via a booking tool.
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Electronics retailers Saturn and Media Markt also opened their stores.
At the Swedish furniture store Ikea it was said: "Depending on the incidence situation, there are different scenarios for our locations."
There is still a limit on the number of customers in all hotels.
At some locations, customers have to register using a booking tool to make an appointment before visiting.
Appointments for Monday could not be booked everywhere.
At the largest German perfumery chain Douglas, this should be possible from Tuesday - "depending on the Corona regulations of the countries in a selected number of branches".
The fashion chain Peek & Cloppenburg is also preparing to start making appointments - as are shops in Hamburg, where there was little influx of customers in the city center.
In Saxony, Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Dulig (SPD) called on citizens to use offers and support retailers.
According to a spokesman, sales at shoe retailer Deichmann with appointments got off to a good start.
"In the long term, however, purchasing by appointment is not a viable economic solution for most of the larger companies due to the lower footfall," he emphasized.
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Retailers have mixed expectations when it comes to shopping by appointment.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, according to a survey by the trade association, 16 percent of retailers are hoping for significantly positive sales effects, and another 40 percent expect significant sales effects.
On the other hand, almost a third expect that the sales will not fully compensate for the costs arising from the effort.
Rostock stores have benefited more from easing.
There the seven-day incidence on Sunday was 24.4.
Queues formed in front of open large shops in the main shopping street of the Hanseatic city.
Only residents of the Hanseatic city itself were allowed to come.
Because of the stable, low seven-day incidence, shopping without making an appointment was also possible in the district of Vorpommern-Rügen.
In Bavaria, on the other hand, the vast majority of shops remained closed.
According to the trade association HBE, trade opened on Monday in only 30 of Bavaria's 96 districts and independent cities.
Because of the high incidence of corona, the shops in all major Bavarian cities with the exception of Ingolstadt and Würzburg would not have opened.
Shops would have opened in Munich's surrounding areas, but not in the state capital.
"There is great confusion among both dealers and customers," criticized the HBE.
In Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, the retail sector reacted with relief.
"That is definitely a step forward," said the trade association in Baden-Württemberg.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Association of Municipalities and Cities correctly stated that closures would also be required in areas with high numbers of infections.
Important parameters meanwhile give clear indications of a new increase in corona infections.
On Monday, 5011 new infections were reported, more than on Monday last week (4732).
According to the Robert Koch Institute, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants reported within seven days (seven-day incidence) was 68 nationwide on Monday - and thus higher than the previous day (66.1).
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210308-99-738614 / 2
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