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/ Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Consumers mainly sought out electronics during the Black Friday Weekend. >Nahira Montcourt
Positive numbers after Black Friday sale event
The first weeks of November were not positive for retail trade, so traders are looking to regain the lost ground
T
Ileanexis Vera Rosado
ivera@elvocero.com
@iverarosado
Rico, assured that after electronics, toys and household items registered the highest sales during the Black Friday event. “There was a slight increase in sales that we trust will continue throughout the entire Christmas season, so we can close the season in positive numbers,” he added.
Hope For A Positive Closing
For his part, Jesús Vázquez, president of the United Retailers Center (CUD, for its Spanish he traditional Black Friday sales, acronym), agreed that the weekend was quite busy. which officially marks the Vázquez explained the first weeks of November beginning of the Christmas were not positive for retail trade, so traders were season, grew between five and betting on the Black Friday weekend to regain the eight percent when compared lost ground. to 2020. The sales increase has Vázquez considers that as long as merchants generated continue with their aggressive hope among merchants about offers to consumers, traffic must the possibility of closing the continue, until the end of the season with positive numbers. season and close with positive Although merchants have numbers. acknowledged –contrary to “If sales continue like they The accumulated other years– that dispersed did this weekend –which were value of retail sales events were being held higher than those of 2020– we during the first seven throughout November, they will have a positive Christmas months of 2021 shows managed to attract many closing,” said the CUD president. an increase of 30.8%, consumers searching mainly for He assured small and when compared to that electronics over the Black Friday medium-sized merchants sold same period in 2020. weekend. Consumers were numerous electronics, clothing specifically looking for game and footwear. Source: DDEC consoles and TV sets. “Sales for the weekend did Iván Báez, president of the exceed expectations. We trust Retail Trade Association (Acdet, that they will continue in the for its Spanish acronym), same way,” Vázquez added. reported “sales had been positive; though not A very similar panorama was presented by the extraordinary because growth has been in the president of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce single digits. However, this responds to the influx of (CCPR), Luis Gierbolini, who assured that there was federal funds being transferred to the island.” an increase in sales compared to the previous year. Báez, also corporate director of Walmart Puerto However, he understands that although there
In fact,
There was a slight increase in sales that we trust will continue throughout the entire Christmas season, so we can close the season in positive numbers. – Iván Báez, president, Retail Trade Association
was improvement, pre-pandemic levels have not yet been reached. “At least it is positive. We could see a lot of electronic sales, and we are confident that this upward trend in sales will continue,” he pointed out. Although the retail sales scenario adds to the increased economic activity registered on the island for the past 14 months, in a recent interview with EL VOCERO, representatives of the retail sector consider this is a transitory bubble that will begin to deflate as soon as the beginning of 2022. Báez agrees with that projection, and anticipates merchants will have to control their operating costs next year, while the government tries to lower the cost of doing business in Puerto Rico. “The government has to focus on promoting economic development. You cannot sustain an economy just with non-recurring federal funds,” he argued. According to the most recent data presented by the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC, for its Spanish acronym), the accumulated value of retail sales during the first seven months of calendar 2021 —from January to July— shows an increase of 30.8%, when compared to that same period in 2020.
