The winter sales period in Andalucia ends on Wednesday and the figures, although showing an increase of 5% over last year, are less than had been expected.
According to the Confederation of Business and Trade in Andalucia (CECA), sales have not met expectations and turnover has barely reached €270 million, although the figures are up on last year.
Consumer behaviour is changing. Most people are tending to take make their purchases during the first couple of weeks of the sales campaign and after that it stagnates. There was a slight upturn as the weather suddenly became colder and people began buying warmer clothes.
The realities of the economic crisis have also taken their toll, with less impulse buying and people taking a more rational approach to purchasing items. Even progressive discounts failed to tempt consumers.