This coming Sunday, May 14, the Mother’s Dayone of the most important business days in Uruguay.
In general terms, the retail trade sector closed the year 2022 in “a situation of stagnation, a trade that put aside the rebound effect after the pandemic and today without achieving genuine sales growth in recent time periods”, said the economic advisor of the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay, Ana Laura Fernández, in dialogue with Coffee & Business.
The sectors that tend to register more dynamism for Mother’s Day are clothing, footwear, personal care, small household appliances and technology itemsFernandez added. For the expert, this commercial day can mean an “injection” for some of these items in a reality outlined by the exchange difference with Argentina, the shift in consumption to that country and the growth of street vendors, an effect that tends to increase during this type of commercial dates.
Personal care is expected to be the most affected item, since it fell 8% at the end of last year and it is expected that its situation will not improve. This item has been the hardest hit by the exchange difference with the neighboring country.
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In contrast, it is expected that the category of clothing and technology will be the most benefited. Both in the latter and in the household appliances category, “the dollar may be playing a positive role in consumer decisions in this type of consumption,” Fernández pointed out.
“We are cautious in the face of Mother’s Day in this context of zero or little growth, and even a drop in some specific items,” said the economist, who asserted that the exchange difference with Argentina “is hitting very hard, not only on the coast, but in trade in general.”
“We want to be optimistic but reality shows us that it is being complex for the sector,” concluded Fernández.
Shopping malls: more promotions and extended hours
On these days, there is an “increased level of anxiety” regarding visits to shopping centers and the situation seems to be “promising”assured from different shopping malls in Montevideo.
Mother’s Day is usually, after the New Year’s Eve festivities, the most important business day in terms of sales volumesaid, for his part, the general manager of shopping gatesNelson Barreto, to Coffee & Business.
During these dates “the movement in the shopping usually grows around 30%” compared to the influx of conventional days and it is expected that during the 2023 edition of Mother’s Day this situation will not present too many changes, added Barreto.
“The mall prepared different types of commercial proposals for our public during these days and took some special measures, such as the extension of hours in the mall“, he expressed.
Barreto explained that although it is notorious that many people are deciding to visit Argentina and take advantage of the exchange difference, which implies “that instead of consuming in Uruguayan shops they do so in those from there,” It is expected that the consumption for Mother’s Day this year will be higher than that registered during 2022.
On the other hand, Tres Cruces Shopping will begin with the festivities on Saturday the 13th on the esplanade of the buildingwhere the Tres Cruces Pop Art festival will take place, with live music, food trucks, and specific proposals for mothers.
Diego Battiste
The mall will also have extended schedule to make your purchases, from 9 in the morning to 11 at night.
On Sunday the 14th, meanwhile, this mall launched the “For the best, only the best” campaign, with different discounts and promotions for purchases related to Mother’s Day, with an emphasis on skin care products.
Also, since Punta Carretas Shopping They also assured that Mother’s Day is a “very special” date for that shopping center. “We have decided to celebrate it with live music, with stands of brand experiences and rewarding the purchase”, they assured and highlighted the raffles that they will carry out with those clients who have invoices of more than $1,000, which includes a zero kilometer car as well as other experiences for mothers.
Both Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th they will extend the visiting hours to the shopping by one hourand on Sunday the parking barriers will be raised, they assured.
“The influx of customers and participation levels of the promotions have been very promisingwith which we hope to exceed last year’s figures ”, they detailed from that shopping center.
Platforms: 2022 better than 2023
The consumption registered on the Mercado Libre sales platform has been far from the reality of retail businesses.
According to the ecommerce data to which he had access Coffee & Businessduring Monday, May 8 20 purchases per minute were registered on the platform. Which implied that there were four more purchases per minute compared to last year.
In this sense, they specified from the technology company: “If the Monday before Mother’s Day is compared with the same day last year, sales grew approximately 35%”.
In addition, in the average of the first week of the campaign for this date there were 12 purchases per minute on the platform, they pointed out.
As to the best-selling products, it is the electronic devices that take the lead. Sales of cell phones, televisions, and tablets stood out —in order from highest to lowest sales volume—.
The offers available on the platform were multiplied almost by three in this annual edition of Mother’s Day and sellers grew 15%, also compared to 2022.
