In a year-end assessment of the market’s performance during the festive season, President of the Cyprus Traders Association (POVEK), George Ellinides, stated that people are not spending.
Highlighting that major commerce is concentrated in large supermarkets these days, he noted that the public is shifting from city centers to retail stores. “The movement was not significant, except for the last 1-2 days,” he reported.
Regarding Nicosia, Mr. Ellinides mentioned that the city is facing issues with sales as shop owners struggle to cover rent and expenses. “The market has dried up; it’s not like it used to be,” he said.
When asked if the holiday events in city centers helped stimulate the market, he commented that the events did not contribute to commerce. “They helped with recreation, getting people out, making their day enjoyable. But there was no spending in retail stores,” he emphasized.
Mr. Ellinides explained that due to increases in product prices, electricity, and gasoline, people are limiting their activities and trying “not to exceed their limits.”
He remarked that this year’s market activity was not in a better condition than last year. “Within the cities, only the hospitality sector is working in the evenings, not the retail stores,” he added.
Asked to predict how the market will fare in the coming days of the holiday season, he stated that the public will move within the same framework.
“The Christmas table had its cost. There will be some movement, but not enough for the shop owner to cover the gaps of other periods,” he noted.
When questioned about whether shop owners anticipate the sales season, he described a “chaos in the market” regarding discounts because everyone offers them whenever they want.
This results in people not attaching much importance to the traditional sales season. “In the past, when discounts were fixed on certain days, they worked. Now, anyone offers a discount whenever they want; it’s chaos in the market. Since people constantly see discounts, they don’t give much significance to this month being the sales period,” he concluded.