Winter Sales: Stores Open on Sunday – Weak Footfall Despite Attractive Discounts

Shops remain open today (January 25, 2026), marking the second Sunday of the winter sales. The recommended operating hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., although major shopping malls and department stores are expected to stay open longer. Store operation remains optional, with each business deciding independently whether to open. Meanwhile, market conditions show mixed results. Nikos Kogioumtsas, Vice President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Commercial Association of Athens, noted that discounts are highly attractive, averaging around 50% and reaching up to 70% in many cases. However, consumer traffic remains weak. He attributed this primarily to reduced purchasing power among citizens. He also highlighted the prolonged use of promotional periods since the liberalization of the framework in 2022. This issue was recently raised during a meeting with the General Secretary of the Ministry of Development, Mr. Maravegias, calling for a reassessment of the current system. ‘Continuous promotion creates confusion among consumers and widens economic inequality between large and small businesses,’ he emphasized, citing Black Friday as an example—stating it should last only one to four days rather than extend for over a month to preserve its genuine discount character. Regarding consumers, he stressed the importance of paying attention to listed prices, underlining that dual pricing—showing both original and reduced prices—is essential to verify whether discounts are real compared to prices over the past 30 days. Fake discounts, he warned, harm both consumers and fair market competition.