Uncertainty in the market resulted in one in three companies running promotions/discounts even during the holiday period, but more than one in four companies had higher sales this holiday season compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

This is the result of a study published today by the Hellenic Confederation of Trade and Enterprise regarding the movement of commercial stores during the holiday period 2022-2023.

As noted by ESEE, the high traffic of commercial stores has become even more intense during the holiday season, due, among other things, to the weakening of protection measures against the coronavirus pandemic, as well as prolonged mild weather conditions. These events mark a return to physical storage, as reflected in recent times.

However, market functioning has yet to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels, and consumer behaviors that were inflated during the health crisis, such as online shopping, persist to some extent even today. Added to the above is the impact of the energy crisis and rising prices, as well as the increased uncertainty they have brought to consumers and businesses.

According to the data, one in four businesses (26.4%) recorded higher sales compared to the corresponding 2021-2022 holiday season, while nearly one in two (43.6%) businesses recorded no change. However, 29.4% of enterprises showed a deterioration in sales compared to last year. At the same time, it is emphasized that last year’s report compared the performance of stores with the performance of 2020, when the market was operating under the suffocating restrictions of the pandemic.

Taking into account the new challenges (energy crisis/rising prices), 27% of businesses said they were very/very satisfied with sales during the holiday season. More than half (54.0%) seem to be moderately satisfied, and 19% seem to be little or not at all satisfied. These findings concern the distance between expectations and actual sales.

The high degree of satisfaction with store attendance is due to the lifting of restrictions on movement and the desire of consumers to return to normal life. More than one in three (36.8%) were very or very satisfied with traffic, while almost half (47.9%) were moderately satisfied.

Traditionally, the best time to shop was before Christmas, however, prolonged market turmoil and uncertainty resulted in one in three businesses (35.6%) holding promotions/sales even during the holiday period. In particular, 71% of businesses that used discounts used an interest rate between 11% and 30%. This finding partly explains that in half of the cases (50.3%) the cheapest goods moved the most. A second explanation can be given by the fact that visits/meetings were preferred and hence the need to exchange symbolic gifts.

Overall, the market presents a mixed picture in 2022 compared to 2021, with positive reviews outweighing negative ones.

The disparity in performance is also reflected in sales forecasts for 2023. One in five businesses (18.4%) say they cannot forecast due to high uncertainty and a highly volatile business environment, and one in four (26.4%) expect deterioration.

The key factors fueling this uncertainty are, on the one hand, the revaluation of energy costs, and, on the other hand, rising supplier prices. Thus, more than half of the enterprises (53.7%) report an extremely high negative impact. Almost six out of ten enterprises (58.9%) had suppliers’ markups on goods ranging from 11% to 30%.

Source: RES-IPE