Retailers offer discounts ahead of sales

Retail chains have indulged in an offers spree from this week in an attempt to energize the market ahead of the regular summer sales, which start on Monday, July 8 and end on August 31.

The discounts offered, both at brick-and-mortar stores and mainly through online sales channels reach as high as 50%, which according to market players suggests even greater discounts later.

Retailers' expectations, however, are not high, as consumption in the year to April was extremely compressed, with the increase in turnover being almost exclusively due to inflation. In tourism hotspots, including the historic center of Athens, part of the losses from the decline in demand observed in domestic consumption has been compensated by purchases made by visitors.

In clothing chains the offers range from 20% to 50%, in furniture up to 40%, in cosmetics from 30% to 40% and in...