Greek consumers are purchasing more goods from supermarkets to clothing, alcoholic beverages, mobile phones, dining, cosmetics, luxury goods, and cars despite the increase in prices and soaring inflation as December statistics reveal.
More specifically, regarding basic goods, sales in volume in organized retail in 2023 showed an upward trend despite increase in prices. Based on NielsenIQ data, the sales volume of fast-moving consumer goods increased by 0.4% for the entire year of 2023; in November, the sales volume set a record for the previous year, experiencing a 6.6% increase.
Following this trend are sales in clothing. It is noteworthy that the turnover of sports goods reached a double-digit percentage increase in December compared to the same month last year.
As Stavros Kafounis, the president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, points out, retail – excluding the sectors of food, automobiles, and fuels – “achieved” the target of 11 billion euros set for the sales of the fourth quarter of 2023, with store owners expressing satisfaction.
Furthermore, Greeks are proving to be big spenders when buying Smartphones. In the 11-month period of 2023, sales of “smart” mobile phones recorded a 16.5% increase in value, reaching 743 million euros compared to the same period in 2022.
2023 was also a good year for businesses in hospitality and food services. For Food Service businesses, the turnover for the third quarter of 2023 amounted to 3.46 billion euros, showing an increase of 5.3% compared to that of 2022.
Finally, sales in luxury goods reached record heights in 2023. The performance of Louis Vuitton in Greece is a noteworthy example, with the sales of the French fashion house in the first 10 months of 2023, in the domestic market surpassing the turnover it achieved for the entire year of 2022, excluding the holiday season.
