Frustrated by their sales during the period of discountcompleted on Saturday, August 30, are almost half business, according to the results of a nationwide survey conducted by its Institute EU.
“The results of summer discounts come to complement the negative” series “of the market since the beginning of the year. Six out of ten companies fell sales, reflecting their ongoing inability to recover, “said ESEE President Stavros Kafounis, on the occasion of the findings of the investigation.
“The main milestones of the year – late discounts, Easter season and summer discounts – were lost for the industry. What remains, in addition to the slim turnover, is the concern of thousands of small and medium -sized commercial businesses on the course of the coming months. The state must proceed with immediate interventions, essentially supporting businesses that keep the market and employment alive. And, moreover, it is time to reassess the institution of discounts so that it has a positive impact on businesses and consumers. “
The investigation
The key findings of the survey of summer discounts are as follows:
- 6 of 10 (59%) businesses in retail recorded worse sales during summer discounts compared to last year, while only 1 in 10, mostly very large companies, recorded a positive sign.
- Almost half of businesses (47%) appeared a little to no satisfaction with their sales during the summer discounts.
- The desire to attract consumers pushes 4 to 10 entrepreneurs (37%) to maintain low prices and bids after their official completion, despite the restrictive institutional framework.
- In this light, it is not surprising that 6 out of 10 companies adopted discount rates of more than 30%, with the “discount step” 31% – 40% gathering the strongest preference.
- For nearly 4 out of 10 businesses (38%) the period with the highest purchasing traffic was the first fortnight of August, a finding that is likely to be linked to both the lack of liquidity and the time of payment of the leave /gift allowance.
- For 7 out of 10 companies in which lower sales were recorded compared to the corresponding discount period last year, the reduction was up to 20%.
- In contrast, for 2 out of 3 companies that reported sales, the rise did not exceed 10% compared to last year.
- 2 in 3 companies adopted the same, as the summer of 2024, discount rates.
- Half of (47%) companies made discounts on all shop goods.
- Half of (51%) companies recorded lower traffic than last year.
- In the light of the above, only 21% of entrepreneurs said they were very satisfied with traffic to stores.
The Responses of Entrepreneurs to other critical issues
- Despite reinforcement of remote sales, 45% of businessmen said that sales of the physical store were more than electronic. This finding also highlights the incentives to be given for further digital maturity of the market.
- Entrepreneurs evaluate accuracy, increase operating costs, reduced market income and raising supplier prices as the most important problems with a negative burden.
- 3 in 4 companies (74%) notes that its operating costs have swelled more than 10% since the beginning of the year to date.
- In this context, 67% of entrepreneurs say from no to no up to a little relieved of support measures against ratings and increased energy costs.