Shopping malls are optimistic for the end of the year

October registered high sales in the sector, with an increase of 6.2%, driven by a growth of consumers by 12.5%. The data was released by Abrasce (Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers), indicating growth compared to the same period in 2021.

Also, according to the Cielo Retail Index in Shopping Centers (ICVS-Abrasce), the Northeast and Southeast regions recorded increases above the national average, with 8.4% and 6.3%, respectively. The entity forecasts that 112,000 temporary workers will be hired for year-end sales, which represents an increase of 11% in the number of employees at the malls.

Despite the positive numbers in October, analysts in the segment expect a not-so-positive pace in the last quarter of the year. The World Cup impacted the number of consumers shopping resulting in weaker Black Friday sales than expected.

Now, with the partial end of the World Cup (after Croatia eliminated the Brazilian team in the penalty shootout), industry analysts hope that the end-of-year festivities can boost retail sales and even increase the number of consumers visiting shopping malls.

"Retailers seemed to be more hopeful than optimistic with end-of-year sales, except for those with a strong positioning of giftable," comment analysts at XP, in a report published last week.