Retailers: 1 in 3 businesses offered/discounted even in the festive season due to uncertainty

Uncertainty in the market has led to one in three businesses running promotions/discounts even in the festive season, while one in four businesses had higher sales this year, compared to the corresponding festive season of 2021.

These results from the research of the Hellenic Confederation of Trade and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) which was released today Friday, regarding the movement of commercial stores during the 2022-2023 festive season.

As noted by ESEE, the high traffic in the shopping malls became even more intense during the festive season, and is also due to withdrawal of protective measures against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the prolonged mild weather conditions. These developments mark the return to the physical store, as it has been reflected in recent times. However, the functioning of the market has not yet been restored to pre-Covid-19 levels, while consumer behaviors that were inflated during the health crisis, such as online shopping, persist to some extent even today. To the above should be added the impact of the energy crisis and price increases and the increased uncertainty which the latter brought to consumers and businesses.

Summary of Results as derived from the data:

• One in four businesses (26.4%) recorded higher sales compared to the corresponding festive period of 2021-22 while almost one in two (43.6%) businesses recorded no change. However, 29.4% of businesses showed a deterioration in sales compared to last year. At this point, it is underlined that in last year’s report the performance of the stores was compared with those of 2020, when the market was operating under the suffocating restrictions of the pandemic.
• Taking into account the new challenges (energy crisis/price hikes), 27% of businesses said they were very/very satisfied with sales during the holiday season. More than half (54.0%) appear moderately satisfied, while 19% are a little or not at all. These findings concern the distance between expectations and actual sales.
• The high degree of satisfaction with store traffic is due to the lifting of movement restrictions, and consumers’ desire for a return to normalcy. More than one in three (36.8%) were very to very satisfied with traffic, while almost half (47.9%) were moderately satisfied.
• Traditionally, the best period for shopping traffic was before Christmas.
• Prolonged market turmoil and uncertainty has led to one in three businesses (35.6%) running promotions/discounts even over the festive period. In particular, 71% of the businesses that proceeded with discounts, adopted a percentage that ranged from 11% to 30%. This finding explains, in part, that in half (50.3%) the cheapest commodities moved the most. A second explanation can be given by the fact that visits/gatherings were favored and therefore the need to exchange symbolic gifts.
• For 2022 overall, the market presents a mixed picture compared to 2021 with positive responses outweighing negative ones.
• The disparity in performance is also reflected in sales forecasts for 2023. One in five businesses (18.4%) say they are unable to forecast due to high uncertainty and a highly fluid business environment, while one in four (26.4%) expect a deterioration .
• Key factors fueling this uncertainty are on the one hand the revaluations in energy costs and on the other hand the increase in supplier prices. Therefore, more than half of the businesses (53.7%) report an extremely high negative impact. For almost six out of ten companies (58.9%) the price markups of goods by suppliers ranged from 11% to 30%.

RES-EMP

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.