The winter sales season officially starts. Sicily and Basilicata kick off the discounts on Sunday 2 January; Valle d’Aosta will do it on Monday 3 January, while all the other Regions will leave on Wednesday 5 January. For sales shopping, which again this year affects over 15 million families, according to estimates by the Confcommercio Research Department, each person will spend around 119 euros, for a turnover of 4.2 billion euros.
“After the signs of recovery recorded during the season, despite the many concerns about Covid-19, the unavoidable price increases make these balances an important response by commercial operators to contain inflation and an opportunity for consumers in search of ‘business and for over 15 million Italian families eager to indulge in a fashion gift and satisfy a desire after so many restrictions ”, comments Renato Borghi, president of the Italy-Confcommercio Fashion Federation.
Confcommercio: one in 4 Italians involved
In the same vein as Confcommercio is also the forecasts on the trend of the balances by Confesercenti, which estimates 4 out of 10 Italians interested in the reduced sales at the end of the season (39% of the total), with an average budget of 150 euros. The forecast survey on the balances conducted on a sample of consumers unfortunately highlights – explains Confesercenti – numbers still far from the pre-crisis ones: on the occasion of the January 2020 winter sales, 48% of Italians said they were interested in the event. Omicron’s shadow weighs on the result and the negative impact it is having on family confidence. But the competition to the sales event by bulimia of pre-Christmas and Christmas promotions to which consumers have been subjected also affects, starting precisely from a particularly ‘close’ Black Friday, less than a month before Christmas.