The sales in retail stores They fell 25.2% in January in Mar del Plata, compared to 2023, according to a revelation made by the Union of Commerce, Industry and Production (Ucip) of the spa city.
According to the work, more than 50% of the merchants consulted indicated that their operations were bad in the first month of the year, and more than 66 percent estimated that they will decrease in the coming months.
“With the current economic situation, a decline in sales in all the country. We noticed lower consumption in the city and that today is confirmed with a drop in sales of more than 25 percent. Profits are getting worse and sales expectations for the coming months are strongly negative,” said the president of the UCIP, Blas Taladrid.
The survey was carried out by the Department of Social and Economic Studies of the entity, in businesses in the items food and beverages, footwear and leather goods, furniture and mattresses, hardware, women’s clothing, bazaar, optics, construction materials, locksmith, perfumery, clothing, beach, fishing and camping, plumbing items, decoration and men’s clothing.
According to the report, the decline in sales occurs “in the context of a season with a drop in tourist influx to the city”, to which almost 90 thousand fewer visitors arrived in January than in the first month of the previous season, according to figures from the Municipal Tourism and Culture Entity.
The opinion of traders
According to the survey, 10.6 percent of those surveyed expressed that their sales performance had been “good” compared to January 2023, 36.4 percent indicated that they were “regular,” the 33.3 assured that they were “bad”, 19.7 percent, “terrible.”
Regarding sales expectations for the next semester, the 12.1 percent think they will increasewhile 21.2% estimate that they will remain unchanged, and the remaining 66.7% consider that they will decrease.
With respect to the investment category, 15.2 percent of the merchants consulted stated that they planned to invest, while the 78.7 will not do it, and 6.1 indicated that “it is evaluating it.”
Regarding the possibility of incorporating personnel, the 72.7 percent indicated that they will remain with the same endowment, while 1.5 plan to incorporate more staff, and 25.8 consider that it could decrease.
“In this context, more and more people are considering reducing staff, a situation that we hope will be reversed because it also affects future local consumption,” Taladrid said.
37.9 of those consulted also specified that in January they had difficulties replacing merchandise compared to December 2023.
Source: Ambito
