First assessment of the January sales: “It’s not really going very well” for traders

Dominique Michel, the boss of the Belgian Federation of Trade and Services (Comeos) was the guest of 7:50 am BEL RTL this Monday morning. The opportunity to take stock of the January sales.

This is the start of the 4^th sales week this Monday. It is already possible to make a first assessment… And this year, it is not really positive.

Less successful than last year

“ÇIt’s not really going very very well”announces Dominique Michel, the boss of the Belgian Federation of Trade and Services (Comeos). “It’s not a disaster either, but it rained and that directly cools the consumer”he remarks. “We are going to have a very average period compared to previous sales”assures the boss of Comeos, confirming the statements of 8 out of 10 traders questioned as part of a study and who assure that they will not make the figures for last year. “In the big chains it may be less serious”nuance Dominique Michel. “But there is a slowdown which is due to bad weather and also due to digital, we know that since the Covid there has been an explosion in online purchases.”

More online shopping

Consumer habits have therefore changed: potential customers have remained on the internet following the covid crisis and if, in stores, the baskets are higher, there are still fewer visits to the store. “Clearly, we buy a lot more online now than in 2019”, notes Dominique Michel.

Balances nibbled away by other offers

This drop in interest in sales can also be justified by punchy promotional offers – such as Black Friday – which multiply throughout the year and which no longer make sales a rare event. “The trader tries to keep his business alive, to get people to come to him, so maybe there are a little too many offers that accumulate one following the other”, also admits Dominique Michel .

Crisis context

The economic crisis also justifies this mixed assessment of the first weeks of sales; and it affects the portfolio of customers as well as that of merchants. “There is an explosion in energy costs, even if it is said that it will decrease”, they jeopardize the future of stores and employability.