Shoppers look at products on display in a shoe store on downtown Athens’ Ermou Street, in a file photo. [InTime News]
Sales rose 4.4% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024, a number not satisfactory to retailers.
According to the data published Friday by statistics agency ELSTAT, sales for all businesses were €128.24 billion in the third quarter, compared to €122.80 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
A caveat to this is that a not insignificant part of sales never shows up in the books; in retail and services, customers are offered discounts for paying in cash, and not with a debit or credit card. These transactions never reach the tax authorities.
The largest increase in sales (18.4%) was recorded by mining companies, while in wholesale and retail trade it rose just 1%. Given the inflation, it means trade sales volume was down.
Accommodations and catering businesses saw sales rise 4.3% despite the boom in visitor arrivals and the fact that the third quarter was peak tourist season. Construction fared much better, with turnover up 15.2%.
For the first nine months of the year, total turnover also rose about 4%, to €348.43 billion, from €334.97 billion during the same period in 2023.