One in every two stores have reported a decline in turnover during the 2022 summer sales, a survey has found. The reduction in spending by households in Greece, combined with the increase in the operating costs of commercial stores due to the rise of energy have dissipated any benefits the retail sector had as a whole from the increase in tourism traffic.
Tourism also demonstrated the disparities between the popular destinations and non-tourism markets, with the former recovering the ground lost due to the pandemic more quickly than the latter.
According to the survey carried out by the Commerce and Services Institute of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (INEMY ESEE), 52 per cent of the businesses that participated in the sales recorded lower sales compared to the corresponding period last year. Another 29 per cent of businesses were at the same level as in 2021, while 18 per cent saw an increase in turnover.
Only 2 per cent of businesses stated that they exceeded the turnover seen in 2019, while 44% noted that they did not match it.
