They will be open tomorrow, Sunday, at stores in the context of summer sales and retailers are trying to attract as many consumers as possible, amid high temperatures and summer holidays, with significant price discounts.

The stores have the possibility to remain -optionally- open tomorrow, as it is the first Sunday after the start of the sales, keeping the proposed opening hours of 11:00 to 18:00 for the stores and 11:00 to 20:00 for the department stores, large stores and shopping centers.

According to estimates, the goal of the retail trade for this summer is for the total turnover of July and August to move above last year’s threshold of 7 billion euros, while the goal of the Ministry of Development is, in general, the orderly operation of the market and the protection of consumer.

That is why the order has already been given to intensify controls and as the responsible minister Takis Theodorikakos has stated: “The informed consumer has power. He can compare prices and buy products where he likes. That’s the only way competition works and we manage to keep prices down… and I want everyone to know that misleading discounts obviously cannot be accepted. There is electronic control through a platform that works in collaboration with the EU. for products available through e-shops, but also DIMEA’s checks in these days and weeks, which will be intensified. And the fines in these cases are very heavy and reach 3 million euros in cases of recurrence”.

More generally, however, the political leadership of the Ministry of Development, in the context of changing the productive model of our economy, attaches great importance to the proper functioning of competition.

Mr. Theodorikakos, regarding the issues of the market and prices, has pointed out that “the Ministry of Development is mainly related to dealing with the inflation of food and basic living items. Energy prices, which are a very serious part of the cost of living, do not belong to the Ministry of Development, the prices of ship tickets do not belong to the Ministry of Development, as do another series of issues – in general, increasing the disposable income of citizens is an issue overall policy”. In this context, the Ministry of Development strengthens the operation of the two independent authorities it supervises.

The Competition Commission and the Consumer Advocate, while the aim is to strengthen the role of consumer organizations in the market.

It is a perennial challenge to control the proper functioning of the markets so that conditions of an oligopolistic structure are not created and in the current situation inflation puts this issue back on the table so the Ministry of Development asks the Competition Commission to increase its presence in the market and speed up the crises her.

According to the data from the latest GSEVEE report, 9 out of 10 small and very small businesses believe that in the Greek economy there are oligopolies that control a large part of the market and set prices. Furthermore, more than 8 out of 10 small and micro-enterprises believe that policies to date do not contribute to promoting healthy competition and avoiding unfair oligopolistic practices.

The new habits of Greek consumers

Meanwhile, the inflationary trends have influenced consumer habits to save money and increase revenue, as research by the Consumer Goods Retail Research Institute shows (IELKA) in the week of June 23-29, 2024 with a sample of 1,000 consumers.

In particular, there have been significant changes recently in consumer habits in various areas of behaviors, which are largely attributed to revaluations of products and services. First of all, there is a clear tendency of consumers to save money for the purchase of basic goods and services and secondarily for money management. There is more pressure to reduce spending on basic services and less on basic goods.

In particular, 71% (against 75% in 2023) of the public state that has canceled entertainment expenses such as dining, vacations, travel etc. 55% (versus 54% in 2023) state that has reduced overall food and grocery shopping.

49% (versus 48% in 2023) of the public say that has postponed maintenance and repair work, e.g. at home or in the car.

42% (versus 49% in 2024) state that they have changed product brands.

27% state that they have used money from their savings to cover their purchases. 27% (against 32% in 2024) have postponed paying bills or stopped paying their obligations. 16% (versus 17% in 2024) state that they have increased their working time or found a second job in order to increase their income. Just 3% of the public say they have taken no action at all to address inflationary pressures.

Regarding the factors influencing consumers in the last four years in relation to the choice of food, monetary expenditure remains the main criterion (57%), but especially in the latest measurements the intensity is decreasing (from 69% in 2023). Also, quality is the main criterion for 27% of consumers, but this is up from 16% in 2023.