Winter sales season draws consumers
A shopper enters a store in Thessaloniki yesterday, the first day of the winter sales period which runs until February 28. Retailers say they are offering massive discounts in a bid to help offset the drop in retail activity due to the ongoing economic crisis and the riots that took place before Christmas. The battle for market share in retail is expected to be even more cut-throat than in previous years, with big chains implementing more aggressive policies and widely advertising their discounts and smaller companies, particularly in neighborhood shopping centers, stressing their personal relationships with customers. The General Secretariat for Consumers has warned against the careless use of credit cards and consumer loans, stressing that shoppers should check prices without getting carried away by the discounts advertised.
