The streets and squares and large commercial spaces in the center of the main Valencian cities are filled this weekend with citizens eager to ward off any bad economic omens with the purchase of gifts. Even the most pessimistic traders admit that “powerful” days await them in terms of sales between next Saturday and Christmas Eve. It will be the Christmas classics—that is, toys and technology—that pull the bandwagon, waiting for the season to revive textile and shoe sales.
«What we had optimistically predicted is being fulfilled. People are consuming and spending responsibly and in moderation, “said Juan Motilla, president of the union Gremiel, yesterday. “We have overcome the pandemic and we worked so hard in autumn that its To be expected.” Small businesses are taking a hit, but they are consuming Christmas celebrations to the normal extent before the pandemic.
As explained by a spokesperson for this employers’ association that brings together unions, industry and the self-employed, the sectors that are doing best these days ahead of the holidays are food and technology sales; A type of trade, the latter, that has been producing good results since Black Friday. “Restaurant is also doing a great job, people want to go out and we’re seeing that these days with company lunches and dinners,” Motila said.
According to the person in charge of UG, it’s more expensive for clothes and shoes, “but the weather is having the biggest impact on that: it doesn’t rain and it’s colder, so people are thinking about renewing their wardrobe.” Think more. Finally, Motila stresses that this “optimistic” approach with nuance has contributed decisively to the fact that small businesses “have not raised prices. We have passed the burden of cost increases on to our customers rather than passing them on.” Would have preferred to reduce the margin,” he defended.
improve at least 2021
Faced with Union Gremial’s more optimistic vision, Rafael Torres, president of the Confedercio del Comerc, Serviços i Autonomes de la Comunitat Valenciana (Confecomerc CV), exercised discretion. “This weekend is supposed to be a good, important start to buying, as the previous one was a bit disappointing,” he said. There was a macro bridge and we expected more sales, but many people came out and all the tours we expected did not arrive.
Torres also emphasized that this is because “there is movement on the street.” However, in the case of Confecomarc, this campaign is not expected to repeat the figures from before the coronavirus pandemic. “Our aim is to, at least, improve on the last fortnight of last year, which was affected by a rebound in infections.”
“We all want to be optimistic but one thing is clear,” warned Torres. Most of the family budget goes to energy and food as prices have skyrocketed. So the money available for other things is necessarily less and this affects consumption. Christmas may be dragging on but we are heading towards a time of slower consumption. Sales won’t drop, but people will think about it.
The person in charge of Confecomerke highlighted yesterday that household appliances, electronics and toys “do not usually fail on these dates”, but he is confident that fashion and clothing will experience an improvement in this campaign, “especially since This has been the worst punishment during the pandemic.”
epidemic compensation
Big stores are also counting on sales of toys and technology, its managers predict will be good, given the influx of the public, the result of the Christmas campaign. “The flooding is going well this morning and we expect it to be even better for the afternoon,” sources told El Corte Inglés in Valencia yesterday.
«We started the campaign at the end of November with Black Friday and it will run until King’s and it has been maintaining a good level during this time. Black Friday is already better behaved than in years past. The same sources said, “We have recovered from the pandemic and we are even better than in 2019.” Like small businesses, large stores also see how technology has established itself as a niche Christmas product. As for the toys, from El Corte Inglés they explain that “unlike last year, in which people carried forward the purchases and had a great attraction of the offers we made, this year people have not expected so much and we expect this weekend Waiting and the next few days until Christmas Eve and again, for the Three Kings».
Clothing, on the other hand, had a “difficult” autumn because “outer clothing had no way out”. “Now it’s not even very cold, but people are already starting to buy because it’s already known that in Valencia you can’t neglect yourself.”
