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Among the Western European countries surveyed, respondents in Switzerland reported late payments most frequently (domestic: 97.0%; foreign: 93.9%).

After a slight decrease in sales on credit terms in 2016 (44.3%), the total value of B2B sales on credit in Great Britain increased again this year (45.7%).

Compared to the 2016 survey results there has been a reduction in the percentage of both domestic and foreign B2B sales made on credit in the Netherlands.

Compared to 2016, respondents in Spain sold less on credit terms, underlining the downward trend in sales on credit terms observed in previous surveys.

Payment behaviour of many Turkish businesses has deteriorated since 2015, and key sectors continue to face problems in 2017 due to increased uncertainty.

The current economic rebalancing efforts do not yet really support consumer durables retailing, as the saving rate of Chinese consumers remains high.

Further sales growth in 2017 is uncertain as consumer confidence could be affected by the outcome of the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Competition is high in all segments and price pressure offsets sales volume growth, meaning that the already low profit margins will remain under pressure.

2017 is expected to be challenging as the weaker pound is putting upward pressure on prices and growing uncertainty could affect consumer spending.

The 2017 retail sales outlook remains positive, due to robust private consumption driven by an improved housing market, job growth and higher wages.