Sales in shopping centers grow 6.8% in the 1st quarter and exceed pre-pandemic levels

In relation to the “pre-pandemic” period, the first quarter of this year recorded an increase of 0.3% on mall sales compared to the same period in 2019.

In the evaluation of the president of Abrasce, Glauco Humai, the increase in number of visitors and the good monthly results of sales volume in the surveyed regions lead to the conclusion that the shopping center sector is quickly approaching the “pre-pandemic” level.

Among the regions, the main highlights in the first three months of this year were the Center-West and Northeast, with increases of 8.4% and 7.7%, respectively, followed by the Southeast (6.6%), South (with 6%) and the North (2.5%). All highs calculated from the first quarter of 2022.

For Humai, among the external factors that contributed to the growth in the first quarter of this year are the lower inflationary pressures on industrialized goodssuch as clothing at the beginning of the year, and advances in real labor income.

“The result represents an acceleration compared to the previous quarter, which had been impacted by macroeconomic factors, such as political uncertainties, higher interest rates and pressures on the family budget, which limited further advances in general economic activity”, comments the executive.

On the same basis of annual comparison, the categories of stores that had the highest variations were: Convenience and Services (33.5%), Entertainment (21.3%) and Food (14.4%). Meanwhile, the flow of people in shopping centers was 13.2% higher than the result for the first quarter of 2022.

In relation to the performance of the month of March, malls had a growth of 2.4% over March 2022. In the period, the average ticket in malls was R$ 128.91 and in street stores it was R$ 84, 10. The flow of visitors rose 8% over the frequency recorded in the same period last year.