About ten days before the end of this promotional period, the winter sales have already stopped. After a fairly good start on Jan. 11, crowding in stores quickly subsided, according to industry professionals.
A drop in attendance from the second week.
Compared to winter 2021 sales, attendance was up 4% in the first week but down 7% in the second week, according to an initial report from Procos. “The month of December had been quite good in clothing and household appliances are now less attractive, because customers have equipped themselves a lot” during the health crisis, analyzes Emmanuel Le Roch.
Above all, shopping centers (+7% the first week and +3% the second week) were preferred over urban centers (+4% the first week and -7% the second week), Procos points out.
And it is in particular the large shopping centers that have been favored by customers. “The latter consider that shopping centers are more efficient for sales” due to the concentration of brands, emphasizes Emmanuel Le Roch, also seeing it as a possible consequence of fuel prices.
Waiting for the cold?
In terms of clothing alone, the figures are also mixed. However, during the period from January 11 to 22, sales of clothing and footwear increased 6% compared to 2022, according to Retail Inc’s panel for Alliance du commerce. “It is a simulated increase, because sales were very bad last year due to the epidemic”, advances Yohann Petiot, general director of Alliance du commerce. Compared to 2019, the last normal year before the health crisis, sales plummeted 22% during these first two weeks of promotions.
After a very good month of December and good private sales, “there is not a full supply of sales in stores because the stocks are reasonable”, explains Yohann Petiot. And customers don’t necessarily feel the need to come back for bargains. Above all because the gloomy economic and social context “does not contribute to the confidence of households,” he points out. Cartels are still expecting a rebound in the second part of sales. “The cold could boost sales in the third week,” said Yohann Petiot.
Source: BFM TV
