Mother’s Day Sales in Costa Rica Were Terrible

Merchants can only describe Mother’s Day sales as “terrible.” The closures due to covid-19 hit many sectors hard, but the commerce sector, including restaurants and department stores, the hardest.

This weekend, businesses in orange alerts, generated zero sales, because of the closures that are a preventive measure against covid-19 transmissions. The rest of the month alternated between bad and very bad sales results.

Restaurants average 50% to 75% income losses over the same month last year. Clothing, footwear, and personal care stores faced losses of 25% to 50% over August of last year. The government extended hours of operation but this had little effect on sales except in some sports and appliance stores.

Even though the commercial sector urged clients to purchase from digital platforms, the total Mother’s Day sales are estimated at ₡22,000 million. Last year, they were ₡38,000 million. This ₡16,000 million drop is attributed to the vehicle restriction and lack of mobility as well as high unemployment and low consumer confidence.