Shops will be open this coming Sunday, January 26. It is the second Sunday of the winter sales and shoppers will have the opportunity to look for deals on a full range of products.

The 2025 Winter Sale began on Monday (Jan. 13) and will run through Friday, Feb. 28, offering consumers seven weeks of opportunities for more affordable shopping.

Stores can open optionally on the first two Sundays of the sale, on January 19 and 26, 2025.

Opening hours for shops and shopping centers, what applies to supermarkets

As part of the sales, retail stores will be open from 11:00 in the morning to 18:00 in the afternoon.

Department stores/malls will also open at 11:00 am, but will close two hours later at 8:00 pm.

These are:

Attica: 11:00-20:00
River West: 11:00-20:00
The Mall Athens: 11:00-20:00
Golden Hall: 11:00-20:00
Athens Metro Mall: 11:00-20:00
Designer Outlet Athens: 11:00-20:00
Smart Park: 11:00-20:00
Mediterranean Cosmos: 11:00-20:00
Smart Park: 11:00-20:00

What applies to supermarkets

Most supermarkets will be closed this Sunday as well. Exceptions are some stores of some chains in tourist destinations.

The majority of shops will be closed for the rest of the year.
The exception is some stores of some chains in tourist destinations.

Only some supermarkets in tourist destinations will be excluded.
AB shop & go franchises will also be open as on most Sundays of the year.

What consumers should look out for

The Union of Working Consumers of Greece reminds some, basic, rights that consumers have during these periods in order to make shopping safer and more prudent.

Specifically:

When making offers, the original and the new reduced price of the products should be clearly displayed, at the points where the offered products are sold, with reference to the appropriate unit of measurement per product.
Any notice of price reduction shall indicate the previous price applied by the trader for a specified period of time prior to the application of the price reduction. The preceding price means the lowest price applied by the trader for a period of not less than 30 days before the application of the price reduction. Where the product has been on the market for less than 30 days, the preceding price shall be the lowest price applied by the trader during a period of 10 days prior to the application of the price reduction. Where the price reduction is progressively increased, the earlier price shall be the price without the price reduction before the first application of the price reduction.

When conducting a discount, in addition to the indication of the old and the new reduced price of goods and services sold at a discount, the indication and commercial communication of a discount percentage is permitted. If a discounted price is offered on more than 60% of the total items sold, the discount rate offered should be indicated on the shop front and in any other commercial communication, and in case there are different discount rates per product categories, the range of the offered rate should be indicated (“from …. % to …. %”). In any other case, it should be indicated that the discounts concern selected items with reference to the respective rate.

STOCK or OUTLET stores are required to display on the signs required by applicable regulations: (a) the old sale price, crossed out, and (b) the new reduced sale price, in a manner that communicates to the consumer a clear distinction between these two prices. Optionally, the percentage of the reduction may be indicated in the shop and in any other commercial communication with the consumer. During periods of sales or promotions, such stores are required to display on their signs all intermediate prices crossed out and, in bold type, the new reduced sale price and to display only the words “sales”, “promotions” in any other commercial communication.

If the discounts, offers or any communication on price reduction are inaccurate or misleading as to the percentage of the discount or as to the prices or as to the quantity of the products offered at a discount or on offer or involve any form of concealment or misrepresentation, a fine of up to 2% of the annual turnover and in any case not less than 20,000 euros shall be imposed on the trader. If the trader is fined a second time for the same infringement within a period of five years, the maximum amount of the fine is increased to 4% of the trader’s annual turnover.