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Shopping centre executives are more optimistic than at any time over the past six months that the retail market is showing tentative signs of recovery as retailers head into the all-important festive season, according to ICSC’s monthly Pan European Shopping Centre Executive Opinion Survey (known as the ICSC Euro-Shop Index).

Nearly 80% of respondents said they expected sales during the Christmas 2012 season to be the same or better than last year.

They are also more positive about the first half of 2013. Sarah Banfield, ICSC’s Europe-based senior research analyst said: 'Our most recent survey of shopping centre executives reveals more optimism than we’ve seen over the last six months. Some may attribute this to the seasonal effect; however, when compared with the same period last year, it is clear that there has been substantial improvement in market sentiment over the last 12 months.'

Other results from the survey show that while October’s footfall was down, compared with the previous month, sales saw some improvement, and the releasing of empty units was up, again perhaps due to the impending festive season and a rise in short-term lettings.

The fragile economies of Spain, Portugal and Greece continue to dampen the morale of consumers but other major European economies are showing some small signs of recovery, including the UK moving out of recession in Q3 and Germany’s September retail sales rising for the second month in succession. Although the German economy may contract in the fourth quarter, the Bundesbank expects that private consumption will continue to support growth.