In spite of mulled wine and lebkuchen biscuits at the ubiquitous Christmas markets, the festive season would be incomplete in Germany without an all-too confident word from the retail association that Yuletide sales are at least in line with last year’s.

So protestations from Josef Sanktjohanser, the association’s president, that “recession has not reached the consumer yet” could well go down as another attempt by shopkeepers to deny the undeniable to stop sentiment getting worse.