Under a rain of flashes, Manon screams. Never mind. It’s a holiday. Stéphanie Bidault and Théo Leblaye came to have their 15-month-old daughter photographed on Santa’s lap, in the Créteil Soleil shopping center (Val-de-Marne), Sunday December 17. Made in a white and gold decor, for 15 euros, the photo “will make a gift for both grandmas”. Their eldest daughter, aged 13, will be entitled to a “little gem”while their son will get a PS5 games console, purchased for 400 euros at the end of November during “Black Friday” operations. ” For the first time “the whole family chipped in.
The brothers and parents of the couple will be entitled to “a useful gift”a “fryer or dishes”, it depends. To finance their end-of-year shopping, the couple dipped into the funds from their Carrefour and E. Leclerc loyalty cards and bought their foie gras in supermarkets. “from the first promotional operations in November”. But “because all prices have increased”, neither Stéphanie nor Théo, in debt from the construction of their house in Bretigny-sur-Orge (Essonne), will make any presents this year. A first.
On the eve of Christmas, inflation haunts most of the customers of this shopping center with 270 brands. And, clearly, its impact on the purchasing behavior of the French is bothering its traders. Because the end of the year weighs heavily on distributors’ accounts. Large food retailers achieve 9% of their annual turnover in the last four weeks of the year, according to data institute Kantar Worldpanel. That’s a whopping 9 billion euros generated at E. Leclerc, Carrefour and other Intermarché in France.
Four weekends in December
Perfumes sell 20% of their perfumes in December. The month represents around 760 million euros in turnover in the cosmetics circuit dominated by Sephora in France. And, still during this month, toy stores usually get almost 30% of their annual sales. “December is the month when many clothing brands report their operating results”adds Yohann Petiot, general delegate of the Commerce Alliance.
On paper, the calendar for the year 2023 is ideal, recognizes Alexandre Liot, director of the Galeries Lafayette department store on Boulevard Haussmann, in Paris, which has already welcomed 200,000 people during the weekend of December 16 and 17. “It will probably be less on December 23 and 24, taking into account vacation departures”, agrees the manager. But, at least, everywhere in France, the sector benefits from the opening of its points of sale over four weekends in December, before the New Year’s Eve deadline. “Physical commerce can benefit from the purchases that the French make at the last minute”predicts Emmanuel Le Roch, general director of the Federation for the Promotion of Specialized Trade (Procos).
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