Winter sales: Great deals for Greek consumers

With the winter sales expected to start next Monday 9th January 2023, retailers are hoping for a continuation of summer and with it consumer buying interest, as although the market moved satisfactorily over the Christmas and New Year holidays, estimates want that proceeds fall short of 2019, i.e. before the pandemic.

As in previous years, this year the market moved at two speeds, with large companies and chains gathering most consumers and regional markets and smaller stores moving at a slower pace. However, the positive sentiment that has prevailed leaves room for optimism that any purchases not made during the holidays have been shifted to winter sales, with retailers hoping that this year’s winter sales will help close the gap that still exists from pre-pandemic levels. For this purpose they are preparing to welcome consumers with brave offers and discounts.

“After the good image during the holiday season, I am optimistic that the market will do even better in the next period,” said Stavros Kafounis, president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce. According to Kafounis, the positive thing is that there are no intermediate discounts anymore.

According to the statements of the vice-president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Nikos Kougioumtzis, people find it difficult to consume due to punctuality and the energy crisis and for this reason, as he explained, consumers bought gifts of lesser value this year. However, he emphasized that this year was better than last year, but compared to 2019, the turnover is significantly lower. According to estimates, the turnover of the holidays in 2019 was close to 3.5 billion euros, while this year it exceeds 2 billion but has a deviation compared to that before Covid-19.

Until the end of February

However, on Monday, January 9, the winter sales will formally begin and will last until the end of February 2023, while the winter sales period also includes a Sunday when the shops will be open, specifically on January 15 from 11 am to at 8 in the afternoon. Several stores have already launched offers that reach up to 50%, as their priority is to liquidate available stocks of the current season to start preparing for the next one.