Most Viennese back Sunday shop opening, study finds

A majority of surveyed Vienna residents support opening shops on Sundays, according to a study reported by ORF, even as opposition to loosening Sunday trading rules remains strong across Austria.

The Institute for Trade, Sales and Marketing at Johannes Kepler University in Linz conducted two consumer studies. In a representative survey in November 2024, 64 percent of respondents opposed further liberalisation of Sunday opening. In the latest survey, conducted in October 2026, 62 percent were still opposed, researcher Ernst Gittenberger said.

In Vienna, 55 percent of those surveyed favoured Sunday opening. Support was not limited to younger people: Gittenberger said many members of Generation X, now in their 50s, would also like to shop on Sundays.

Respondents most wanted grocery stores, drugstores, tobacconists and pharmacies to open, followed by clothing shops.

Gittenberger said Vienna is the only Austrian state without tourism zones, which are often part of the debate. He pointed to the high number of tourists expected in the capital before Christmas and shops being closed on Sundays. Vienna ÖVP leader Markus Figl said the findings supported his call for tourism zones. Mayor Michael Ludwig of the SPÖ opposes the proposal.