BERLIN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Toy retailers in Germany expected a strong Christmas business with an increase of 3 percent in turnover compared to last year, the country's toy trade association (BVS) announced on Tuesday.
"The Germans are in a buying mood," said Steffen Kahnt, managing director of BVS. The continuing baby boom in Germany was "having a beneficial effect" on the results of toy retailers.
This year, the Christmas business in November and December would account for a "particularly high" 40 percent of the total annual sales, the BVS noted.
The BVS said it is expecting total toy sales of 3.4 billion euros (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) for 2019.
The continuing trend in Germany towards starting a family combined with secure incomes would mean that "young and old will again be spending more money on toys," said Kahnt.
For toys, German consumers still preferred to buy toys in shops, where they spent 60 percent of the budget, according to the BVS. However, online shopping continued to "gain in importance."
In Germany, "the shopping tour starts at the screen, but usually still ends in the shop," said Kahnt.
