Although it is still too early to take stock, the merchants grouped in Arrecife Zona Centro are not entirely optimistic about the final results that Christmas and Epiphany sales may yield.
Eugenio Hernández, secretary of the Association, says that consumer behavior is to buy the first days of December and then wait for the last days of the year and the days before Epiphany to finish purchasing the products. However, the forecasts are not very favorable. "Sales will recover because people will give their gifts, but I don't think they will be as expected," he said.
Background
Last year, compared to 2003, sales decreased by 20 percent. Arrecife Zona Centro at least hopes that the 2004 season record will be maintained in the present, as it will hardly grow.
The stores have the hope of selling even on January 7 because it is the day of 'changes', and many people choose to improve gifts by investing more money. The sales season begins on Monday, January 9.
Hernández thinks that scheduling and making purchases effective before December guarantees choosing without haste and acquiring what you really want and not what is left. The center of the capital and its area of influence add up to about 500 businesses.
Equipped shops
Faced with some complaints from potential buyers who are going to purchase products promoted in the catalogs and then are not physically found in the stores, Eugenio Hernández assured that the businesses are fully equipped.
"What happens is that sometimes the products in the catalog do not arrive because the supplier does not have a criterion that can be adjusted to the needs of the businessmen here," he stressed. Unlike large surfaces, Hernández highlights that the attention of the stores in the center of the capital is personalized, so he rules out poor customer service as a factor in the decrease in sales.