Filenews 30 December 2025 - by Angelos Angelodimou
For yet another year, Christmas Eve justified the designation of the most commercial day of the year. December 24 was once again a point of reference for retail this year, with supermarkets attracting by far the largest part of commercial traffic.
As it is known, December is the most commercial month of every year and this year this could not be an exception. Especially with the entire sector recording record numbers and now being one of the main sectors of the Cypriot economy.
Speaking to "F", the general secretary of the Pancyprian Retail Trade Association (PASYLE), Marios Antoniou, said that both the malls and the shopping streets were full of life in the last few days, a move which translated into important markets, sharply increasing the volume of turnover in retail.
By far the largest part of the traffic was absorbed by supermarkets, but the markets for gifts, board games and of course electronics moved satisfactorily. "We are completely satisfied with the movement in the market," noted Mr. Antoniou, pointing out that 2025 closes with record numbers for retail, making the year absolutely positive. He added that barring a shocking contingency, the new year will also move at a positive pace.
Asked about how the remaining days after the 24th of the month moved, Mr. Antoniou noted that on December 27, and after a two-day period with closed stores, the inseparability was observed, while yesterday the 29th of the month, with the payment of the 13th salary to the public service, it was expected that there would again be significantly increased traffic in the market.
Impressive growth
In relation to the course followed by the sector in general, the general secretary of PASYLE underlined that the growth is impressive, which is also shown by the numbers of the Statistics. He recalled that in October, a Eurostat survey ranked Cyprus among the top three countries in terms of the largest increases in turnover volume in retail. As Mr. Antoniou explained, in the event that only the value of turnover increased, then one could possibly say that this was also due to price increases. However, the increase in volume indicates that the market has grown. And this is due to two main factors. In the excellent course followed by tourism, with visitors arriving on our island giving a huge boost to trade, but also to foreigners, who now live permanently in our country and strengthen the market with their purchases.
Indicatively, Mr. Antoniou pointed out that after tourism, trade as a whole is now the largest sector of the Cypriot economy. In fact, especially retail, estimates raise its contribution to GDP, to about 16%.
It is also impressive that trade is the largest sector in terms of employment, with its percentage amounting to about 20% of the total.
As far as turnover is concerned, the numbers there seem unrealistic. Only the food sector "turnovers" an amount that reaches 3 billion per year. If clothing – footwear, electronics, DIY and the rest of the retail sector in general are added to these, then the amount skyrockets to unimaginable numbers.
Optimistic prospects
As for the next year, but also for the immediate future, the estimates are optimistic and encouraging, provided that no new extraordinary event will arise that will create tensions in our region. As Mr. Antoniou told "F", 2026 is expected to enter dynamically with the winter sell-offs starting in the first days of January and focusing mainly on the part of clothing - footwear.
In the big picture, the fact that foreign chains or existing ones are arriving in our country strengthen their presence, that there is a waiting list in shopping centers in case a store is vacated and that two more shopping centers are coming to Limassol, shows the confidence of Cypriot and foreign investors in the future of the industry.
Concluding, he noted that there is intense competition in the industry, which contributes to keeping prices at attractive levels and not being able to increase one's prices to absurd levels. As for consumers, the general secretary of PASYLE said that they are now studied, informed about prices and the variety of products and buy what they need.
