More lights than results. He trade cordoban The Christmas campaign ends once again with a bittersweet flavor. He first day of salesa moment that was previously awaited with almost the same expectation by consumers as by merchants, has become a mirage for a few days that confirms a situation aggravated by inflation and gradual reduction of margins. “The discounts no longer exist,” says the president of Center Córdoba, Manuel Blasco, «there will be changes of the Kings and a little more sale, but nothing to do with the concept of discounts to which we were accustomed and which has been diluted since this period was liberalized. According to the Andalusian trade association, the sales balance for 2023 “is unfavorable, We were confident that after the pandemic it would be a year of recovery for the sector, “But external factors such as war conflicts that have triggered inflation and the rise in product prices and increases in interest rates have caused families to lose consumption capacity, reducing sales compared to 2022.”
This same analysis is what they carry out in Córdoba, also applied to the Christmas campaign that has just ended. Blasco estimates that the decline in sales may be between 7% and 8% less and that despite the fact that “the streets of the Center have been packed with people, taking advantage of the offers that have already been launched in advance.” The investment that has been made to encourage the influx of public is “necessary”, he says, “this is what we have, It has to be done because if there are no people on the streets, nothing will be sold.». In the face of sales, each business will do what is in its power. “The sales they had the sense of get rid of stockbut discounts cannot be applied to all merchandise because it is unfeasible, if a store sells below 50% it does so at cost or losing money on a garment,” he points out, “in addition, since there are no clear dates “Customers are demotivated and lose interest.”
Discounts in the neighborhoods
In the neighborhoods they have also made a strong investment to encourage parties and sales and the balance is positive but not encouraging. According to Ramón Luque, president of the merchants of Garden City, “there is discouragement because sales were expected to be higher than last year, when they were not very good, and it has been the other way around.” Making a good Christmas was “the hope to save the autumn-winter, “But the celebrations have been very staggered even though there have been many people in the street, but there is not the joy that we have seen at other times.” In the neighborhoods, the discount model is not convincing either. «A store cannot be sales all year round, with discounts and offers, the market is increasingly aggressive and the public does not always value having a professional behind the counter who explains the product to you and is there for any problem.
He increase in online sales of the large operators is the other factor that works against it, something that the Andalusian employers’ association asks to be regulated to provide balance between the different commercial formats. They remember that Commerce accounts for 22% of employment and 11.5% of GDP.
For its part, the Andalusian Consumer Union estimates that each Cordoban will spend on these sales an average of 115 eurosan amount that the Consumer Association raises to 169 euros, who predicts that spending will be less than in 2023. Among the reasons given by the consumers surveyed is that nor they believe that the sales provide an additional discount to what has been previously offered.
Rights do not change in sales
Like every year, at the beginning of the period, the consumer organizations remind what requirements must be respected during the sales period to guarantee the rights of customers “which remain the same as the rest of the year.” Thus, if a establishment accepts returns throughout the season, you should also do it during sales times. Likewise, if you normally allow card payment, you should also accept it in this period.
Regarding advertising, Consumer Union Remember that when a sale is announced, the establishment must have sufficient stocks of identical products to offer to the public under the same promised conditions and that a store cannot advertise itself as having sales unless the discounts apply to more than half of the products offered.
Regarding the prices of the discounted products, The price reduction must be displayed showing the usual price and the new price, without overlapping the reduced price. When it is a percentage reduction of a set of items, the generic advertisement of the same will be sufficient without the need for it to appear individually in each item offered. Items damaged for any reason cannot be sold as sales but as balances. Nor can you discount items that have not been on sale a month before the start of the sales. Finally, they recommend checking the quality and warranty of the product and requesting the purchase receipt or invoice to make a return or claim if necessary.
More lights than results. He trade cordoban The Christmas campaign ends once again with a bittersweet flavor. He first day of salesa moment that was previously awaited with almost the same expectation by consumers as by merchants, has become a mirage for a few days that confirms a situation aggravated by inflation and gradual reduction of margins. “The discounts no longer exist,” says the president of Center Córdoba, Manuel Blasco, «there will be changes of the Kings and a little more sale, but nothing to do with the concept of discounts to which we were accustomed and which has been diluted since this period was liberalized. According to the Andalusian trade association, the sales balance for 2023 “is unfavorable, We were confident that after the pandemic it would be a year of recovery for the sector, “But external factors such as war conflicts that have triggered inflation and the rise in product prices and increases in interest rates have caused families to lose consumption capacity, reducing sales compared to 2022.”
This same analysis is what they carry out in Córdoba, also applied to the Christmas campaign that has just ended. Blasco estimates that the decline in sales may be between 7% and 8% less and that despite the fact that “the streets of the Center have been packed with people, taking advantage of the offers that have already been launched in advance.” The investment that has been made to encourage the influx of public is “necessary”, he says, “this is what we have, It has to be done because if there are no people on the streets, nothing will be sold.». In the face of sales, each business will do what is in its power. “The sales they had the sense of get rid of stockbut discounts cannot be applied to all merchandise because it is unfeasible, if a store sells below 50% it does so at cost or losing money on a garment,” he points out, “in addition, since there are no clear dates “Customers are demotivated and lose interest.”
Discounts in the neighborhoods
In the neighborhoods they have also made a strong investment to encourage parties and sales and the balance is positive but not encouraging. According to Ramón Luque, president of the merchants of Garden City, “there is discouragement because sales were expected to be higher than last year, when they were not very good, and it has been the other way around.” Making a good Christmas was “the hope to save the autumn-winter, “But the celebrations have been very staggered even though there have been many people in the street, but there is not the joy that we have seen at other times.” In the neighborhoods, the discount model is not convincing either. «A store cannot be sales all year round, with discounts and offers, the market is increasingly aggressive and the public does not always value having a professional behind the counter who explains the product to you and is there for any problem.
He increase in online sales of the large operators is the other factor that works against it, something that the Andalusian employers’ association asks to be regulated to provide balance between the different commercial formats. They remember that Commerce accounts for 22% of employment and 11.5% of GDP.
For its part, the Andalusian Consumer Union estimates that each Cordoban will spend on these sales an average of 115 eurosan amount that the Consumer Association raises to 169 euros, who predicts that spending will be less than in 2023. Among the reasons given by the consumers surveyed is that nor they believe that the sales provide an additional discount to what has been previously offered.
Rights do not change in sales
Like every year, at the beginning of the period, the consumer organizations remind what requirements must be respected during the sales period to guarantee the rights of customers “which remain the same as the rest of the year.” Thus, if a establishment accepts returns throughout the season, you should also do it during sales times. Likewise, if you normally allow card payment, you should also accept it in this period.
Regarding advertising, Consumer Union Remember that when a sale is announced, the establishment must have sufficient stocks of identical products to offer to the public under the same promised conditions and that a store cannot advertise itself as having sales unless the discounts apply to more than half of the products offered.
Regarding the prices of the discounted products, The price reduction must be displayed showing the usual price and the new price, without overlapping the reduced price. When it is a percentage reduction of a set of items, the generic advertisement of the same will be sufficient without the need for it to appear individually in each item offered. Items damaged for any reason cannot be sold as sales but as balances. Nor can you discount items that have not been on sale a month before the start of the sales. Finally, they recommend checking the quality and warranty of the product and requesting the purchase receipt or invoice to make a return or claim if necessary.
