Retail Sector’s Confidence Index during the third quarter of 2016 reflects a minimal decrease. However, Black Friday fills entrepreneurs with optimism and 72% of them believe that thanks to that date, their sales will increase.
In addition, their optimism is not only related to Black Friday, but also to Christmas and New Year’s Eve. However, representatives from the group admit that problems always prevail in the country and they hinder development. Among those issues, they mentioned poor infrastructure, informal trade and the high cost of electricity.
According to Alonso Elizondo, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica, this optimism will affect employment because only 18% of the companies plan to hire more staff within the next three months, whereas 65% of traders do not plan to make any changes.
The trade sector has more than 246,000 workers, which represents 14% of the labor force in the country and it is important to highlight that percentage.
Yolanda Fernández, president of the Chamber of Commerce, declared that among the products that will be sold there are clothing, accessories, groceries and electronics.