Shoppers out, few buying

However, most retailers said that for this Christmas Eve, and in fact the Christmas season, while sales were brisk, it was slower than previous years.

This was evident by the comparatively small number of shoppers out yesterday.

In fact, one Diego Martin man commented that, while there was a lot of vehicular traffic, the pedestrian traffic was less than on a normal Saturday in the city.

Diane Perry, a hairdresser from D’Abadie, said she shops on Christmas Eve every year and she expressed shock at the “scant” number of shoppers in town yesterday.

“Christmas Eve usually has a whole lot of shoppers in town. I don’t know if people don’t have the money or don’t have the Christmas spirit this year because truly, I’m not feeling it in town’s atmosphere at all,” she stated.

The manager of Miguel Moses on Queen Street said she did not know if it was the fear of being a victim of crime, or the fact that many people lost their jobs this year, but not only were there less customers than previous years, but those customers were buying less.

Rhonda Williams, a street vendor selling Bath and Body Works products, said she believed this year’s Christmas Eve sales were slow because people were watching their budget due to the recession. She noted her more expensive products were not selling and most people were reaching for the cheapest. “People are looking for deals. I noticed they would ask the prices, check other places and then come back to buy, but still mostly the single bottles or smaller packages,” she said.

“Usually, two weeks before Christmas and up to Christmas Day, the minute people get their bonus, it’s so crowded that our sales reps don’t get a break.

But look at it today (yesterday), we have lots of people available,” exclaimed a supervisor at the Wonderful World’s Frederick Street branch.

A vendor selling toys on Charlotte Street said he believed he would return to sell his toys today (Christmas Day), as he felt many would remain on his hands. He said while yesterday’s rainy weather affected sales, he believed citizens were not in the mood to celebrate Christmas this year.

However, it seemed to be business as usual for Excellent City Centre on Independence Square. A supervisor told Sunday Newsday there was a line of customers waiting outside the doors when employees arrived to prepare for the store’s 8 am opening. She also described the customer traffic as “normal” for Christmas Eve as most people come in to buy last minute home accessories or gift wrapping items when they were finished shopping for gifts.