Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Many merchants start the winter sales season with big discounts. Four out of five retailers will start with a discount of 30 percent or more, and for one in five that'll be an instant 50 percent discount. That's what the neutral self-employed union NZR says
Winter sales begin January 3rd. With only a few days left before the start of the sale period, the stocks are still very large, and therefore many merchants will start their winter sales with high discounts. Four out of five merchants (81 percent, versus 69 percent last year) will start with a discount of 30 percent or more. For one in five, these will be direct discounts of 50 percent.

"This is understandable, because 59 percent of merchants still have 40 percent or more inventory on their shelves, according to our survey," NSZ said. Nor do they expect a great year-end to clear out their stock: only 30 per cent of retailers expect their January 2023 sales to match last year's winter sales. One in five fear a drop in sales volume of at least 20 per cent compared to With winter sales last year. Even then, winter sales were not successful: if you know that 24 percent at the end of January last year actually registered a decrease of 20 to 40 percent compared to the same period in 2020, it is not very encouraging.

Sales in February?

“It is clear that the winter sales look different this year, because 9 out of 10 traders have already noticed a difference in the behavior of their customers due to the crisis: consumers visit the same store less, and this clearly has consequences. We should also not underestimate the impact of online purchases, which Still on the rise."

"Last year's survey showed that 2 out of 3 traders still support winter sales at that time, and they want to keep the same duration and sales period," says NSZ. "But perhaps because of the renewed fear of lower sales volumes, they want change now: one in two traders indicate they had no qualms about selling in February. This call for change comes mainly from fashion stores. Perhaps this avenue should be reviewed and discussed," the NSZ said. more.