2024 was a year of records for shopping centers. December was the best month for revenue – reveals a study released this Friday by the sector association.
The “Christmas Shopping 2024” study carried out by the Portuguese Institute of Marketing Administration (IPAM) revealed in December that surpassed shopping in shopping centers.
This does not, however, seem to prevent the Portuguese from continuing to consume in shopping centers… especially because there is: too many options make decision-making difficult, if not impossible.
The reality is that the endless options in online stores They leave consumers fatigued and without knowing what to choose, which is leading many to leave products in the cart and not complete their purchases.
The concept of choice overload is not new, but it has become particularly relevant in the age of e-commerce.
A recent survey by the Accenturewhich surveyed 19,000 people around the world, revealed that 74% of respondents they had abandoned the cart of online purchases in the last three months because they felt overwhelmed by the vast array of options.
Perhaps because of this “Paradox of Choice”, 2024 was a year of records for shopping centers in Portigal
A study of the Reduniq Insights developed for the Portuguese Association of Shopping Centers (APCC) on the sales with electronic payments takes stock of the activities of shopping malls over the past year.
No big surprise, December concentrated three of the best days of revenue for the year (with the 23rd registering the highest value), surpassing the values observed on the 30th and 29th of November (during the period of Black Friday).
The average value per purchase globally was 33,80 euros.
In a year in which, according to the same information, sales in shopping center stores reached record levels, the restaurant sector saw the greatest growth, with turnover rising 11% compared to 2023 and the number of transactions increasing 9%.
Total turnover of shopping center stores increased by 7% in relation to 2023, this being also the order of magnitude of the year-on-year growth in the number of transactions, which leads APCC to mention that the results are sustained in a largest number of visitors and not just in the value of purchases made.
The highest percentage of sales was seen in the 4th quarter, with the indicator of average spending per customer increasing in every month of this period, in relation to 2023, which is happening for the first time, according to the study.
The same information also reveals that the weekends they represented around a third (35%) of sales throughout the year (with Saturday accounting for 19% of this total).
In turn, in the post-work periodthat is, after 6pm, accounted for 38% of total transactions.
Quoted in a statement, the executive director of APCC, Carla Pintohighlighted satisfaction with the results achieved by the shopkeepers in 2024, noting that these confirm the growth trend that has been observed.
The data from the study, says Carla Pinto, prove “the importance of shopping centers in the daily lives of the Portuguese”, with the availability of hours and opening days being “a decisive factor in the choice and preference” of visitors.
