ECONOMY

Scared shoppers cut spending by up to 20 pct

Consumers slashed spending during the winter sales period, after the country entered a deeper recession than first thought in 2009, according to data presented by National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) yesterday. Retailers have seen revenues drop by an estimated 15 to 20 percent year-on-year as generous price reductions failed to get consumers spending, ESEE said in a statement. ‘Unclear government announcements on new taxes, pension reform and labor issues have added to uncertainty, leading to a drastic reduction in retail sales recently,’ ESEE added. The winter sales season is scheduled to run until the end of February. Greece’s economy contracted by 2 percent last year, worse than a government estimate of a dip in GDP of 1.2 percent.

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