Paphos shopkeepers strike pessimistic note amid muted Easter trading

Paphos shopkeepers reported subdued Easter trading, saying that festive decorations and seasonal displays were not enough to lift footfall in the city’s upgraded shopping centre.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Kyriacos Kyriacou, a long-standing retailer and active member of shopping centre committees, said the market had effectively “frozen”, as geopolitical tensions and broader economic pressure continued to weigh on consumer behaviour.

He said that public concern over developments in the region, coupled with the rising cost of goods and supermarket shopping, had dampened spending, while bookings remained particularly weak and expectations for the near term were low.

Kyriacou also pointed to the timing of Easter, which falls relatively early this year, as well as weather conditions that have yet to support stronger demand for clothing and footwear. 

Andri Koupepidou, who owns a gift shop on Chrysanthou Street, also said that “customer traffic had remained limited“, attributing this both to the weather and to current developments in the wider region.

While expressing concern over the present situation, she hopes that “activity will improve next month”, noting that the high cost of running a shop leaves business owners relying on a satisfactory flow of customers to cover operating expenses.

Pericles Christophi, who runs a store selling products such as energy bars, pralines, pasteli and peanut butter in the traditional shopping centre, said his “business depends mainly on orders rather than passing trade” and that he did not expect a rise in walk-in customers over Easter.

He added that “footfall during the holiday period remains weak and tends to decline further as time goes on, while evening activity in the old town is concentrated more in cafes and bars, with the strongest retail traffic generally seen in shopping malls and department stores”.

Broadly, traders in Paphos said that the market is under pressure from a mix of geopolitical uncertainty, economic strain, weather conditions and seasonal factors, while remaining cautiously hopeful that the coming weeks will bring some improvement.