ΕΣΕΕ
- 30 Apr 2023
- economy
Higher sales were recorded by 1 in 4 businesses during the holiday period compared to last year, according to a survey by IN.EM.Y. of ESEE.
The research concludes that the high traffic of the commercial markets has not translated into comparable sales and the operation of the market has not yet been restored to pre-pandemic levels.
However, given the energy crisis and price hikes, 27% of businesses said they were very/very satisfied with holiday sales, over half (54.0%) were moderately satisfied, and 19% were somewhat or not at all satisfied.
In addition, uncertainty in the market led one in three businesses to hold promotions/discounts, which partly explains why cheaper goods moved more in half.
Key factors fueling this uncertainty are on the one hand the revaluations in energy costs and on the other hand the increase in supplier prices.
Summary of Results
One in four businesses (26.4%) recorded higher sales compared to the corresponding festive season of 2021-2 2022, while almost one in two (43.6%) businesses recorded no change. However, 29.4% of businesses showed a deterioration in sales compared to last year. It is worth noting that in last year's report the performance of the stores was compared to those of 2020, when the market was operating under the suffocating restrictions of the pandemic.
Taking into account the new challenges (energy crisis/price hikes), 27% of businesses said they were very/very satisfied with sales during the holiday season. More than half (54.0%) appear moderately satisfied, while 19% are a little or not at all. These findings concern the distance between expectations and actual sales.
The high degree of satisfaction with store traffic is due to the lifting of movement restrictions, and consumers' desire for a return to normalcy. More than one in three (36.8%) were very to very satisfied with traffic, while almost half (47.9%) were moderately satisfied.
Traditionally, the best period for shopping traffic was before Christmas.
Prolonged market turmoil and uncertainty has led to one in three businesses (35.6%) running promotions/discounts even over the festive period. In particular, 71% of the businesses that proceeded with discounts, adopted a percentage that ranged from 11% to 30%. This finding explains, in part, that in half (50.3%) the cheapest commodities moved the most. A second explanation can be given by the fact that visits/gatherings were favored and therefore the need to exchange symbolic gifts.
For 2022 overall, the market presents a mixed picture compared to 2021 with positive responses outweighing negative ones.
The disparity in performance is also reflected in sales forecasts for 2023. One in five businesses (18.4%) say they are unable to forecast due to high uncertainty and the 3 highly fluid business environment, while one in four (26.4%) expect worsening.
Key factors fueling this uncertainty are on the one hand the revaluations in energy costs and on the other hand the increase in supplier prices. Therefore, more than half of the businesses (53.7%) report an extremely high negative impact. For almost six out of ten companies (58.9%) the price markups of goods by suppliers ranged from 11% to 30%.
