The market is seeing increased trading activity after Lights over the holidays, during which sales were underwhelming for the clothing and footwear sector
Between 20%-50% are the discounts this year, according to POVEK and the Cyprus Consumers' Association.
According to the CEO of POVEK Stefanos Koursaris, increased commercial mobility is observed after the Lights in relation to the holidays, during which sales were not satisfactory.
"Going into the sell-off process, (merchants) expect and hope that people will embrace and buy products at a lower price so that they can continue their economic activities. The movement so far has not been the one observed perhaps in earlier times when queues were formed outside the shops", he added. He also said that the discounts are within 20%, maximum up to 40%-50%.
"What we call on businesses is to provide this season's products at good prices, because it is the only way to 'provoke' the consumer to make purchases," he noted.
Mr. Koursaris reiterated POVEK's firm position on the need to institutionalize sales so that, as he said, "real sales are guaranteed on the one hand and the consumer is protected on the other".
"We saw ridiculous things. In other words, someone should have continuous discounts of 20%, 30% or even Black Friday lasting 1-1.5 months instead of one day. We have degenerated, is that the right word, the institution of sales, and this has a negative impact both on the prices of products available on sales and on consumers who are unaware and suspicious of sales," says Mr Koursaris. .
"Because of the small market we have, discounts of 70% to 80% are not observed. And that makes perfect sense because our economy is small-scale. We do not have populations of millions and consumers of millions to be able to buy products in such quantities that discounts of the order of 70% and 80%, which are observed in other countries, can be made on the unavailable ones. Unfortunately, the economy is small-scale and I repeat the discounts are from 20%, 30%, 40%, maximum 50%", he added.
The complaints
For her part, the legal officer of the Cypriot Consumers' Association, Virginia Christou, reported to KYPE that several cases of complaints regarding the return policy have started and are reaching them.
The association recommends that the code of consumer ethics become binding for businesses, noting that the code regulates, among other things, the issue of discounts.
Ms. Christou, when asked about this, said that complaints have started to arrive at the Cyprus Consumers' Association and these are either about the return policy, or the wrong price on the shelf from her at the checkout, or about online fraud or misleading practices.
These complaints, he continued, may concern around 20 to 25 cases.
"What we constantly tell consumers who contact us is that we first do market research and that way we can identify what products we really need so we don't go out of our financial budget. What some companies also informed us is that they will extend the time frame of the discount until the beginning and middle of February. So enough time will be given to consumers who wish to buy their products to think about it and do their market research", said Mrs. Christou.