Retailers hope for Christmas boost

Merchants are hoping sales from this weekend through to the next will tip the balance this Christmas season.

This is according to president of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry James Clarke, who reported recently there was a mixed bag coming from retailers this Yuletide season.

He said the feedback varied by sector, with some saying things were trending upward and some downwards, while others said sales were picking up after a slow start.

“They’re hoping for a good weekend – this weekend and the next weekend. But basically, yeah, some up, some down, depending on which industry you’re in,” Clarke told the DAILY NATION.

He added this was reflected in the sale of consumer goods, food and hardware. The construction sector tends to close off at this time of year.

Like chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association Trisha Tannis, Clarke said the challenges with shipping also had an impact. Trinidad and Tobago was grappling with a port strike, while both Jamaica and Barbados had issues with congestion.

Clarke said the Bridgetown Port has a number of no-cargo days but it compensates for this by opening for longer hours.

In Bridgetown recently, with hundreds of people out for the traditional Sunday shopping, some store owners and operators said they were looking forward to an uptick in sales as Christmas draws nearer.

At Abed’s on Swan Street, managing director Eddy Abed said this week will be crucial for retailers judging by previous Christmas trends.

“The closer we get to Christmas, we find that the traffic in our stores has gone up. We still have a whole ten more days, and that makes a huge difference because obviously a lot of people haven’t received their December pay cheques.

“They haven’t received their bonus payments, or meeting money, so a lot of things are going to happen within the next few days and this coming week is going to be all-important,” he added.

Abed said they will be offering a “VAT-free week” to boost sales.

“There is no VAT Day this year, at least that I’m aware of, but we’re creating our own. We’re running it for the whole week so we expect great things out of that,” he said.

In the store, customer Kadesha Sealy said her Christmas shopping will be far more low-keyed this year.

“I didn’t plan to do Christmas gifts this year. Unfortunately, the supermarket bills are higher so I’m gravitating to spend more in the supermarket and probably invite family rather than give gifts. If I give gifts I might give the kids the money to spend rather than give them the gifts,” she said.

At Dallas Discounts on Tudor Street, Sharon Carrington said she completed her Christmas shopping a week ago after pledging to scale down on her spending for the season.

“With the cost of living shopping has become far pricier. I’m not hectic; I take my time and do what my money can do and that’s enough. I’m not going overboard because next year I want to live,” she said.

Store manager Carol Ann Bernard said the foot traffic this year has been a far cry from last year, but is hoping a rush of last-minute shoppers will see positive sales figures.

“By this time around I was expecting more traffic but that’s not the case this week. Even last year it was better than this, even on Sundays. In terms of buying clothes, I think they are waiting days before to buy gifts and other things.

“We’re just waiting till next week to see if we’re going to get that crowd we had last year; it’s only a week and a couple of days left,” she said. (SAT/JRN)