• Sales of shopping mall retailers at Christmas were up 9.5 percent from 2018;
• The estimated growth by the Alshop industry association was well below the result achieved: between 6% and 6.5%.

Sales of shopping mall retailers at Christmas were up 9.5 percent from 2018, the Alshop industry association said. According to the Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico, it is the highest growth rate since 2010, when the rise in Christmas sales was 13%. The result, therefore, is also the best performance of the segment since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2014.

The data disclosed are nominal, ie, do not discount inflation. Trade entities and research institutions are closely following the closing of the 2019 data, as the year promises to be a real recovery for the sector. Christmas results in other segments, such as e-commerce, should also be a good surprise this year.

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This Friday (27), the unemployment rate measured by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) fell between September and November, driven precisely by the higher occupation in the commerce sector (1.9%) in the period.

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“We have to celebrate, because Christmas was very positive. And the expectation is that until the 31st this strongest pace will continue because of pre-New Year sales and the period of product exchanges, ” said Nabil Sahyoun, president of Alshop yesterday, according to Valor. The projection of the entity, from 6% to 6.5%, was well below the achieved result.