Discounts of up to 70% aim to draw in a clientele with the strained purse following the Christmas celebrations. Consequently, retail in the Islands faces two pivotal weeks where, particularly for smaller enterprises, the essential target is to reach 80% of their revenue for the first month of the year. Apparel, accessories, and electronics, including gadgets and video games, form the selection displayed in the shop windows and interiors of Canarian outlets.
Optimism stems from the positive results observed in the closing weeks of the year. November witnessed a 4.6% rise in business volume compared to the same month in 2023. This statistic is crucial, as noted by the president of the Las Palmas Trade Federation (Fedeco), Raju Daswani, “Black Friday and Cyber Monday have turned into the peak periods for sales” within the sector. Therefore, if the penultimate month of the year presents favourable results, it can be inferred that they are on track for substantial earnings.
‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ have overtaken Christmas as the peak sales season
In the absence of official figures, the anticipated growth for December, when a significant portion of Christmas shopping occurs, is estimated to range from 5% in the least favourable scenario to 8% in the most optimistic. This is the momentum that retailers hope to sustain during the sales season. The variable largely hinges on the influx of tourists, and this time of year sees an abundance of visitors as Europe endures the colder months.
Yesterday, Ritis was lounging on a bench along the commercial street of Mesa and López with a bulky bag filled with clothing. He has been in Gran Canaria for a week and was informed that excellent prices could be found during this period. He intends to take the newly acquired clothing back to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital where he resides.
Maria Pisaca
Less expensive than in Lithuania
“I’ve discovered items that are less expensive than those in my home country,” he remarked without much astonishment. I was already aware that this was a possibility. It will be more challenging to persuade local consumers, who are very accustomed to discounts throughout the year.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the contrast between the areas dominated by independent retailers and major shopping centres was quite apparent yesterday. The former, deserted; the latter, bustling with shoppers. The influence of tourists was also palpable, with visitors nearly matching the number of locals.
In Tenerife, few locals on the streets while many are in the shopping centres
The transformations experienced by one of the principal job providers in the Archipelago are clear, beyond the distortions introduced by large online sales enterprises. Among younger generations, for instance, there is abundant utilisation of technological tools to exchange gifts that are not entirely to their taste.
Video games and apparel
A video game they may already own or a jacket that fails to match their style are blunders of the Three Wise Men that raise the query of whether it is inappropriate to request a receipt for returns. Milanuncios, a second-hand buying and selling platform, has examined, alongside Appinio, the purchasing behaviours during these times, the consumer profile, their expectations, and how an increasing number of shoppers are also turning to second-hand platforms to offload gifts.
57% of the population has returned gifts received at Christmas at some stage. When it comes to those they do not desire, 70% exchange them in-store, whilst 22% of Spaniards state that they sell unwanted gifts as they prefer to keep the money.
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