The market and consumers are moving in festive rhythms with commercial enterprises preparing for a festive “breath” of liquidity.

December is traditionally one of the most critical months for business coffers with a quarter of annual store turnover being achieved over the Christmas and New Year holidays. For their part, consumers are becoming “smart” bargain hunters as limited disposable income and inflationary pressures on essential goods have significantly curtailed their Christmas spending.

As far as the festive table is concerned, in supermarkets the “household basket” is converted from Wednesday, December 13th until Wednesday, January 3rd “christmas basket”.

In this context, six items are added to the household basket –turkey, lamb, goat, king pie (bun), chocolate and bun- which most consumers buy for the festive table. Essentially, as far as fresh meat is concerned, the festive basket includes turkey, lamb and goat, but also pork and beef as these items are also in the consumer’s basket.

Also, in the next few days the “Santa’s Basket”, so that every family can buy toys at affordable prices. The categories that will be included are, among others, board games, baby toys, stuffed animals, dolls, construction toys, etc.

At the same time, the discussions of the Minister of Development, Kostas Skrekas with the representatives of the market continue and as he recently announced, the market was asked to reduce the prices of lamb by up to 10% as well as to maintain, at last year’s levels, the prices of honey macaroni and kourabiedes. At the same time, the minister underlined that checks continue with unabated intensity across the entire range of products and services, while, soon, consumers themselves will be able to directly report violations they detect through the eKatanalotis application.

But in the battle against accuracy, in addition to the holiday basket, consumers can also search for 1,286 items from 100 companies participating in the “permanent price reduction” initiative. According to Mr. Skrekas, the weighted average decrease in prices of these 1,286 items is 5.5% as prices have decreased, for at least six months, at a rate that starts from 5% but in some items even reaches 10%.

With regard to the controls, the minister in his recent statements underlined that: “Upholding legality and respecting all debtors without discrimination is an absolute priority for the government and anyone who violates the law will pay a heavy price. Every day the Ministry of Development receives 10-20 complaints on the 1520 telephone line, which are checked, cross-referenced and after that the competent services intervene.”

In fact, by the end of the month, the e-katanalotis application will be added, through which every citizen will be able to send a photo of the product or a message, when he realizes that there is an illegality, and the relevant services will take care of the matter. Also, regulation is underway in early 2024 that is expected to put an end to virtual offers.

The holiday season starts on December 12th. Shops are open on Sundays 17, 24 and 31 December

On Tuesday, December 12, the proposed opening hours of the commercial stores for the festive season of Christmas 2023 of the Athens Chamber of Commerce will begin. The shops will be open every day with continuous hours, from 9 am to 9 pm and on Saturdays from 9 am to 6 pm. On Sundays 17, 24 and 31 December, shops will be open from 11 am to 6 pm. It is noted that on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 December as well as on Monday 1 January and Tuesday 2 January the shops will be closed.

On the occasion of the announcement of the festive hours, the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Stavros Kafounis, said: “The most important period for commerce also begins in the decorated shops in the center and in the districts of Athens, workers and shopkeepers are waiting for consumers, with shelves full of products and excellent prices. Let’s hope that the Holy Days, despite the difficulties faced by households and businesses, will confirm expectations and welcome the new year with a smile and optimism”.

As the most critical period for trade begins, subdued consumer spending mood shows Focus Bari survey results with inflation and accuracy hitting purchasing power. According to the survey, at least half of Greek consumers are willing to consider lower spending on all items, even essentials, if their purchasing power continues to shrink due to inflation. Specifically, 50% are expected to spend less money on food and beverages, while 56% on household items and hygiene items. Also close to 80% are willing to further cut spending on discretionary consumer items such as alcohol, toys/puzzles/books and clothing/shoes/accessories. A percentage of 73% would also reduce their expenses for personal care and beauty.

On the same wavelength, IOBE’s economic situation survey showed that in November consumer confidence moved to relatively lower levels. Specifically, the consumer confidence index stood at -45.6 points, compared to -44.7 points in October. According to the research, the constant price increases and the high cost of living had a catalytic effect on the expectations of Greek consumers, an effect that was also burdened by the geopolitical tensions of the last few months which are intensifying, instead of easing. The index is moving at low levels now, with the result that Greek consumers appear to be the most pessimistic in the EU this month as well.

Consumer forecasts for the financial situation of their household, in the next 12 months, declined marginally in November with the relative index standing at -43.7 (from -42.9) points in October. 57% (from 58%) of households expect a slight or significant deterioration in their financial situation, while 5% (from 8%) foresee a slight improvement.

At the same time, consumers’ intention to make important purchases in the next 12 months (furniture, electrical appliances, etc.) dropped significantly, with the relative index standing at -43.8 (from -39) points. 55% (up from 51%) of consumers predicted they would spend less or much less, while 7% (up from 8%) expected the opposite.

The indicator of the intention to save in the next 12 months weakened significantly in November and stood at -67.4 points (from -61.8 points). 85% of households do not consider saving possible in the next 12 months, while 13% consider it possible or very likely.

Regarding estimates of the current household financial situation, the percentage of consumers who say they are “just getting by” rose to 61%, while the percentage of those who say they are drawing on their savings increased to 14% from 12%. Consumers who said they save a little or a lot make up 16% of the total, while the percentage of those who said they are “in debt” was 8%. In the question that assesses the degree of uncertainty of households regarding future economic developments, 59% considered in November that their financial situation can be predicted with difficulty or relatively difficult, as in the previous month.