LONDON—Europe’s retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it is taking place against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup.
Retailers across Europe fear the overall Christmas trading season could be the worst in at least a decade as shoppers cut back, while the costs of doing business show no sign of abating, squeezing profit margins.
Double-digit inflation has dented consumers’ purchasing power and their confidence is also at or close to the gloomiest on record as soaring energy bills add to the spiralling cost of living….