Merchants characterize the purchasing movement during this year’s summer sales as sluggish, which ends today, Saturday, August 31, an event largely due to the reduction in the purchasing power of the Greek consumer.
According to the estimations of the business world, the expectations to stimulate consumption did not succeed with the turnover registering low “flights” and now the commercial world is turning to the offers and – in view of the start of the new school season – to the basket of school supplies it has already entered into force.
Turnover and discounts
As reported by the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship, “the 2024 summer sales were completed amid multiple contradictions. The recovery does not appear to be taking hold in the market due to continued upward pressures on operating costs and tax liabilities.
At the same time, the cumulative erosive effect of inflation has shrunk disposable income, making consumers especially cautious, with uncertainty in the international environment remaining.
The positives include the tourism figures for the first half of the year, in terms of incoming travel traffic and travel receipts. However, the results are limited to the tourist areas, while the weak domestic production base implies a burden on the current account, shrinking the already limited fiscal space.
According to the assessment of traders, the percentage of businesses (85%) who consider that this year consumers were more restrained in their purchases compared to previous years is overwhelming, while it is of particular importance that, despite the relevant discussion, only 4 out of 10 businesses (42%) in the ESEE survey appeared to be able to make sales also outside a physical store. This finding is considered important by traders, not because small and medium commercial activity seems to resist the internet and new technologies, but mainly because of the objective difficulties imposed by the cost of digital transformation.
In the meantime, according to the results of the six-monthly survey of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Athens University of Economics, 8 out of 10 businesses recorded a lower or the same turnover compared to last year during the summer sale period, while it is estimated that at this particular time period, the lack of disposable family income, the increase in food prices combined with the ongoing global economic uncertainty, make it difficult to predict the behavior of the consumer public for the next six months.
The reflection
The traders’ concern regarding the possibilities of recovery of the commercial market is also recorded in the ESEE survey. However, as ESEE underlines, two parameters should not be forgotten: On the one hand, the fact that the culture of sales outside physical stores has now been established. On the other hand, the fatigue observed in the market due to the cumulative effect of multiple crises and mainly the contraction of purchasing power as a consequence of accuracy.
It is characteristic that, even in the cases where the turnover increased during the summer sales, this increase did not exceed 10% for more than half of the companies, while on the contrary, in the cases where the turnover decreased during the summer sales , the decrease for 69% of businesses was stronger and exceeded 20%.
For its part, the Ministry of Development, in its area of responsibility, has further intensified the controls over the entire range of the market while seeking, gradually, to strengthen the role of consumers in the battle against punctuality by choosing the most favorable price and ‘ extension to strengthen its role in the operation of healthy competition.
The student’s basket includes: school bags, caskets. notebooks / pads (and notebook labels and covers), wooden or mechanical pencils, colored markers / crayons, pens, erasers, erasers, rulers, rulers (geometric instrument sets) and photocopy paper
According to press information, possibilities are already being explored to further increase the use of the e-katanalotis online platform and make it more user-friendly. It is recalled that today consumers can compare prices on more than 3,000 codes of basic consumer products in various supermarket chains as well as compare “baskets” of products but the aim is, in the near future, to be able to see a history of prices per product and per supermarket, so that they have an opinion on the course of price formation.
In addition, consumers will also see in the application the fuel prices by region and by gas station, which are currently posted on another platform, and next to the current prices, the average prices by prefecture will be added, with the aim of giving consumers a comprehensive view and companies and gas station owners are under pressure to keep fuel costs as low as possible.
The basket with school supplies is in effect
In the meantime for the next two months, turnover in the retail trade will be concentrated on items related to the new school year.
With time counting down to the start of the school year, the basket of school supplies that Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos has asked businesses to stock up on came into force from Wednesday 28 August until 15 October all profit margins and prices to be better than last year. In this context, strict state controls on the profit margin and mark-ups on school supplies began.
It is recalled that the fine for related violations has increased fivefold and has risen to 5 million euros following a legislative initiative by the Ministry of Development.
The student’s basket includes: school bags, caskets. notebooks / pads (and notebook labels and covers), wooden or mechanical pencils, colored markers / crayons, pens, erasers, erasers, rulers, rulers (set of geometric instruments) and photocopy paper.
Informing the consumer public about the products participating in the initiative is mandatory:
a) Through a special mark placed on the products or in their physical or electronic sales area or in any means by which the products are advertised to the consumer,
b) by posting, at the entrance of each store, a clear list/catalogue of the products that make up the household basket as well as the prices at which the products are offered and
c) through at least one separate point of sale, in a prominent position of the store, where the products are placed and made available to the consumer public.
It is also worth noting that if the stocks of a product participating in the initiative run out in one or more stores, businesses must temporarily replace the out-of-stock product with a corresponding product available at the same or lower price and in the same or greater quantity.
If there is no such product in the store, the obligees ensure the supply of the store where the product sold out within two days with a sufficient quantity of the sold-out product or inform the Ministry of Development and the e-katanalotis digital platform for the definitive replacement of the product in all of their stores.
The new product should also be in adequacy. The final replacement of a product is allowed only once until the new regular submission of a product list. “We will do everything possible to lighten the family budget in view of this school year” has stated the president of the Association of Retail Sales of Greece Kostas Gerardos
For his part, the president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vassilis Korkidis, expressed his belief that the student’s basket comes to hold down the prices of basic school supplies. Last year, prices for school supplies rose more than 10%, while according to the 6% year-on-year decline in stationery prices in July, it is estimated that we will not see any increases this year, despite a quadrupling in the transport costs of imports from China in 2024. Thus, it is estimated that the average cost of the school list will vary, depending on the school age, from 20 to 50 euros. Of course, he adds, it should be pointed out that the school list is not limited to stationery and consumables, since it usually includes other items, such as school supplies, painting and handicraft items, foreign language books, gym uniforms and other complementary products and activities , whose prices are not included in the basket.
According to Mr. Korkidis: “The importers, the Greek school and stationery manufacturing companies and, of course, commercial and stationery stores, are called, once again, to back off and keep prices low, as it is an absolute necessity to support the Greek family, so that the children have access to all the necessary supplies. Also, if we want to stop the loss of approximately 9 billion euros of annual sales from third country e-shops in the Greek market, we are obliged to become as competitive as possible. We must therefore give incentives with affordable prices, all year round to our domestic perennial customers, so that they choose to make their purchases, either physically or digitally from the shelves of Greek stores. The combination of discounts, offers and baskets works in favor of consumers”.
Source: APE – MEB
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