Sales during World Youth Day exceed expectations, says FGV professor

The pilgrims who have come to Rio de Janeiro for the World Youth Day (WYD) are spending more than expected. That's the conclusion of FGV's Retail MBA professor, Daniel Plá, who says that tourists are taking advantage of the savings made with lodging to consume. They are concentrated in groups of 20 to 50 people and suddenly come together in a store, to the joy of merchants. They spend between R$ 20 and R$ 50 in souvenirs, and it's expected that at the end of the World Youth Day the average ticket of these purchases will be of R$ 380, with a turnover of 120 million, he reveals. According to Daniel Plá, the performance is amazing and exceeds the one reached in the Confederations Cup - which was less than expected. Even lower income tourists are shopping, he says. The professor warns, however, that there could be a lack of some WYD theme products before the end of the event and that spending is restrict to souvenirs and typical Brazilians products. When it comes to food, visitors are also saving, he warns. The research was conducted with pilgrims, large and small shopkeepers.