Winter sales under Omicron – What Merchants Hope and Fear

With Omicron already laying a “hand” on store cash registers, as in the week before the New Year the consumers put a brake on the exits and expenses not only because of the large spread of the coronavirus, but also because they had to pay the inflated power bills, The commercial world’s hopes for a slight stimulus to the buying movement are now turning to the period of winter sales.

However, this year too, winter sales, which start next Monday, January 10th and end on February 28th, will not be made in a regular period. Last year, for the first time in the 100 years of the history of the discount system, the winter sales season started with the shops closed due to the restrictive measures against the coronavirus and this year the Omicron variant threatens to rattle the market.

The Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis, spoke about the great loss in the retail market if the increase of cases continues beyond the next 15 days, when the commercial world already estimates that the decrease of the turnover in 2021, compared to 2019, was on average 30%, with things getting worse in the last week of the year.

If this situation lasts for 15 days, the damage to the market will be small, but if it lasts longer, it will be great, said Mr. Georgiadis to SKAI, while he confirmed traders, noting that already last week the market suffered a slight decline.

It is reminded that on Sunday, January 16, the shops will be open, according to the legislation in force for the discounts.

The measures

Regarding the additional measures due to the increase in the number of cases, “apart from the general quarantine, I do not rule out any other measure, such as the extension of compulsory vaccination”, stressed the Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis.

For their part, the shopkeepers are avoiding the scenario of further tightening the measures for the operation of the shops, as, as they say, it will be a disaster.

How the turnover of the sales period is shaped over time

The winter sales turnover during the crisis years ranged from 4.5 to 5.5 billion euros, while in 2020 with 5.3 billion euros it had an annual increase of 8% in January and 4.5% in February.

Last year, it is estimated that about 3.5 billion euros were lost compared to 2019, as the stores in Attica, where almost half of the total retail turnover of the entire country is recorded, operated normally for only 12 days during the discounts and the rest , whether they were completely closed, or click away and click inside were applied.