Winter sales from tomorrow: Advice to consumers – Business obligations

The time for the start of the first ones is counting down discounts of the year, as tomorrow, Monday, January 9, 2023, the winter sales season begins, which is expected to last until February 28, 2023.

As the legislation provides, the winter sales start from the second Monday of January and last until the end of February.

In fact, the winter sales period also includes one Sunday when the shops will be open, namely Sunday January 15, 2023.

The opening hours of the stores are optional from 11:00 to 20:00.

The Union of Consumer Workers of Greece issued a useful guide with five tips for consumers:

Analytically:

• To do market research and check not only the price (original and new) but also the quality of the products. Also, look online for the price of the product they are going to choose, based on a code or model number, so they can be sure that the price they have found is the best.
• To delineate their needs and plan with a list the purchases they are going to make, which will go along with their personal or family budget, avoiding reckless spending.
• To be informed of the details and terms of their transaction when purchasing products in installments. Especially for credit card purchases, always be informed of the terms and conditions of the particular purchase.
• Products should carry the original price and the offer price (not the discount percentage). Caution! Offers often state that no changes are made, so if they regret it, they can’t change.
• Always ask for the receipt for the products they have purchased. In case the product is defective and they want to return or exchange it, proof is necessary.
• Please note that after the abolition of intermediate sales, the sales periods each year are now: Winter sales, from the second Monday of January until the end of February and Summer sales, from the second Monday of July until the end of August

On the occasion of the start of the winter sales, the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce Stavros Kafounis stated:

“After two dry festive periods, this year the market moved at a satisfactory pace at least in the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year and we hope that the same mood will prevail during the sale period. We invite the consumer public to visit the stores from the first moment, do market research and take advantage of the very attractive prices, meeting family needs in the best possible way, choosing from a wide range of products in all product categories. The Athens Chamber of Commerce and I, personally, wholeheartedly hope that 2023 will be the year that we leave the bad memories of the past behind for good.”

However, the Athens Chamber of Commerce gives the following guidelines for commercial businesses:

• The listing of a double price, i.e. the old (deleted) and the new price of all items sold at a discount is mandatory.
• Discount rate listing and commercial communication is also permitted.
• As long as a reduced price is provided on more than 60% of all items sold, the demonstration of the discount rate provided is mandatory, so it should be indicated on the shop window and in any other commercial communication.
• In the event that there are different discount rates per product category, the range of the provided rate should be indicated (“from …. % to …. %”).
• In any other case, it will be stated that the discounts concern selected items with reference to the corresponding percentage.
• Shopkeepers should, in the event of an audit, be able to prove that the old selling price on the sign corresponds to reality.

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