Not the usual post-holiday sales expected in Hungarian shops this year

This year has been frustrating for many shoppers in Hungary, as prices for a wide range of products have increased significantly.

As a result, many consumers are hoping to take advantage of post-holiday sales to find some discounts, but as the Hungarian news portal Pénzcentrum writes, it seems that these discounts may not be as substantial as in previous years. With the reopening of shops on 27 December marking the start of the post-holiday sales season, many shoppers may be disappointed as the mega-sales that have been common in previous years are not expected to occur.

According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), prices in Hungary rose by 22.5 percent this November compared to November last year. In comparison with November 2021, the prices of food and household energy showed the highest increases. Food prices rose by 43.8 percent, while household energy rose by 65.9 percent compared to last year. Moreover, when comparing November prices to October, consumer prices rose by 1.8 percent on average. Given these price increases, it is no surprise that many are waiting for discounts before making purchases. However, it seems that they may need to find other ways to save money on their purchases during the post-holiday sales, as the big sales are not expected to happen now.

Hungary, Hungarian, meat, meat market, local, meat product

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What to expect?

Pénzcentrum asked the head of the Hungarian National Trading Association (OKSZ) György Vámos what exactly to expect this year regarding the post-holiday sales. Vámos explained that although there were already discounts at the Hungarian shops shortly before Christmas, the usual sales are still going to happen. However, unlike in previous years,

there are likely to be fewer price markdowns of 50-60-70 percent and above,

and fewer product items are going to have a reduced price.

He argued that the expected drop of the usual mega-sales and the reduced number of products on sale means that whenever a retailer sells off its products, it has to give up a part of its revenue, which is more difficult this year because of the economic crisis. As he said, their costs have also risen considerably, for instance, procurement has become much more expensive this year.

Finally, Vámos also added that it is not possible to predict by how much, but the number and extent of these seasonal sales will be more limited than in the past years.

This means that not only will there be fewer markdowns in Hungarian shops during this year’s post-holiday sales, but we cannot expect big discounts either. However, it is important to remember that, as in the previous years, there can be differences between shop prices, so if you want to take advantage of the discounts, it is worth checking out several shops to find the products you want to buy at a bargain price.