Families secure budget to give only children at Christmas

The weekend before Christmas, when families go shopping, was marked by shopping malls and busy commercial areas, but few bags in hand.

Unrestricted circulation in stores, guaranteed by the advance of vaccination against the coronavirus, increased sales compared to last year. Rising inflation, however, limited purchasing power. Consumers who took to the streets of São Paulo this Saturday (18th) prioritized toys for children.

In the region of Rua 25 de Março, in the central region of São Paulo, the Armarinhos Fernando store, which occupies a block, has already registered better sales this month compared to the same period in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.

Specially pulled by the sale of toys and Christmas items, sales in the month should rise 15% in relation to the same period last year, according to the general manager, Ondamar Ferreira.

“This year, the families are coming together with the children, which did not happen last year, there was no group displacement. The negative side is that it causes turmoil, the positive side is that the child’s will prevails”, he says.

​In addition to balls, the sale of mechanized dolls and skate and skate kits grew. As many dolls are imported, the price has gone up. The average value per purchase, according to Ferreira, is 13% higher this year. The company expects growth of 4% compared to 2019, the year before the health crisis.

“It’s hard to find a doll for less than R$50. Prices have increased and it’s necessary to do some research to fit the budget,” said businesswoman Rosângela Gomes, who was looking for a gift.

“This year, it’s a souvenir for the nephews, a gift for the children, and that’s it,” said another consumer, Sheila Marcelina, accompanied by children.

Cleaning assistant Daniele Maria, 30, will also be giving gifts only to children this Christmas. The choice was for clothes for daughters Laura, 10, Yasmin, 6, and Alice, 3, bought at a mall in the Tatuapé region on Sunday (19).

“I bought it just for them because it doesn’t work for me. The money is low. Now let’s do some research and see if the shoes are affordable,” says Daniele.

According to Abrasce (malls association), clothing items were appointed as the sales highlight at the end of the year in 75% of the country’s malls, followed by perfumery and cosmetics (66%).

At the Festas e Fantasias store, in the central region, owner Pierre Sfeir celebrated the rhythm of sales during the pre-Christmas period. The establishment of costumes and party items has been around for 46 years and nearly went bankrupt during the worst phase of the pandemic, when Carnival, large birthday parties and weddings were suspended.

This month, the movement returned to the level before the pandemic, according to the owner. “Our goal has always been to sell around 5,000 Santa Claus costumes. We’ve sold 4,000 pieces so far,” he said.

The clothes are manufactured in Brazil, which allowed for more affordable prices for the final consumer.

“What is no longer possible is to bring products from abroad. A container used to cost R$ 10 thousand a few years ago. Now it goes to R$ 80 thousand. This has made imported products up to 40% more expensive,” he pointed out.

The Ri Happy toy store does not have a projection for the Christmas result yet, but recorded an increase in sales above expectations on Children’s Day, of 9%. The brand’s concept store, located in a mall on Avenida Paulista, was one of the busiest establishments on Saturday afternoons.

“The flow is similar to last year, but a little lower than in 2019. There are a lot of people in the mall, but not many bags. Consumers with lower purchasing power buy more at the last minute,” said Sérgio Silvestrini, superintendent of Ri Happy.

This same behavior was noticed in another shopping center in the Higienópolis region. Despite the heavy flow in the hallways, the most out was Panettone, with tumultuous candy stores and coffee pods.

At the Cidade Jardim shopping mall, which serves the A and B public in the southern region of the city of São Paulo, shopping bags were also scarce on Sunday afternoon (19).

Engineer Fernanda Antunes, 40, says she chose to buy Christmas gifts online, due to their practicality. “We came just for lunch and to see Santa Claus,” he says. Gifts this year will also be restricted to the three children of the family, according to her.

Manager of an international toy brand with a store at the mall, Ana Patrícia Martins says that new care was taken to serve children who have gone to the place to choose their gift, such as guidance for employees to keep their distance.

“The movement returned strongly and around Christmas it should increase more. We are very close to what we saw in this period in 2019”, says the manager, who believes that the shopping center’s public was less affected by high inflation. The most popular items are franchise-themed toys such as Star Wars and superheroes, thanks to recent movie releases of the genre in the cinema.

FecomercioSP estimates that retail trade will grow 5% in São Paulo in December, motivated by the payment of the 13th salary, which impacts Christmas shopping. The injection of the resource will be 57.5% higher than in the same period in 2020.

The projection is that retail will register R$91 billion in sales in the month, R$4.2 billion more than in 2020. Affected in recent months, the clothing, fabric and footwear sector is the one with the highest forecast for high for the month of December.

In shopping malls, sales should add up to BRL 5.6 billion in the week of December 19 to 25, according to an estimate by Abrasce — an increase of 16% compared to the same period in 2020.

According to Abrasce, the average purchase ticket made this week should reach R$ 219, 11.2% higher than that registered in 2020 and 17.7% higher than the average purchase in 2019.

In addition to physical retail, other channels on the rise for sales in the period are marketplaces and delivery and drive thru services, according to the association.

Economists ponder that, despite the prospect of improvement for this year’s date, inflation, unemployment and indebtedness could limit this growth.