A SURGE in consumer spending in the run-up to Christmas has been reported by some of the State’s leading retailers and shopping centres, with sales estimated to be up by about 5 per cent on 2009.
Retailers heaved a collective sigh of relief as the Arctic-like conditions which saw trade in many shops drop by as much as 50 per cent in the week before Christmas last year failed to materialise this year and the improved weather conditions have led to significantly improved sales.
Industry representative body Retail Excellence Ireland said yesterday sales were set to show their first year-on-year increase in four years, while an increase in sales of 0.68 per cent in December would be the first bounce since March 2008.
The umbrella group for retailers said while the rise in like-for-like sales in December was welcome, it was nevertheless slightly disappointing when last year’s weather difficulties were taken into account. “Overall, Christmas 2011 has been a challenging trading period to date,” its report said. It found footfall was up, but “shoppers remain cautious, are buying down and shopping around”.
It said recent shopping trends saw customers opt for function over fashion, and it also noted the fact of fewer Christmas parties and celebrations being held had hit footwear and fashion sales.
Shopping centres have been the biggest beneficiaries of the upturn in sales, with customers venturing further to shop in 2011. Free parking and a stronger mix of stores was also a major factor in luring people out of the cities.
The director of Dundrum Town Centre, Don Nugent, said business had been very good in the run-up to Christmas.
While it was too early to say how much sales would be up, footfall in December was up 4.5 per cent when compared with 2009 and up more than 6 per cent compared with last year’s pre-Christmas figures.
Some restaurants in the centre were trading at 2007 levels, he said. “There have been some unusual trends this year, with more people buying with cash as opposed to credit cards and people spreading their spend over October, November and December as opposed to last-minute spending, but the bottom line is that there is no doubt that December will be up – it will be a low single-digit increase, but it will still be an increase,” he said.
He said Marks and Spencer, Hollister and the House of Fraser had been particularly busy this week and queues were forming in almost all MS outlets from early yesterday morning as people stocked up on their Christmas food.
Stephen Sealey, Brown Thomas managing director, said business had been very good in the last few days and he anticipated it would be significantly up on last year, and also up on 2009 figures.
“This week has undoubtedly been very strong,” he said last night.
“December started very well, then it was a bit slow – but we saw sales rising last Saturday and that trend continued all the way through the week. We will definitely be up on last year and will see a decent increase on 2009, which, in the current climate, is very good.”
Mr Sealey said yesterday was exceptionally busy, with cosmetics, accessories, the homewares section and menswear seeing a lot of business as people searched for last-minute gifts. “Traditionally, December 23rd is the busiest shopping day of the year, but I would expect it to be very busy on Christmas Eve as well this year because it falls on a Saturday,” he said.
Bob Johnston of the Gutter Bookshop in Dublin’s Temple Bar, who launched a social media campaign aimed at getting people to shop local this year, said his shop had had “a very good Christmas”.
He said it was hard to make comparisons with last year, but said “people have been very supportive and have been choosing to shop local this year”.
EARLY DOORS: SALES TO BEGIN IN EARNEST ON ST STEPHEN'S DAY
WINTER SALES begin in earnest on Monday with Arnotts, Clerys, Brown Thomas and Next among the first shops to open their doors to bargain hunters.
Arnotts on Dublin’s Henry Street launches its traditional winter sale at 9am on St Stephen’s Day and will be offering up to 70 per cent off handbags in its revamped accessories section. It is also promising discounts of 50 per cent across accessories, clothes, technology and homewares.
On nearby O’Connell Street, Clerys is also planning a 9am start on Monday and as with other years it is offering enormous discounts on some big-ticket items including a five-foot “Sleep Spa” storage divan set down from €1,999 to a single euro.
Next keeps its tradition of opening early and shoppers will gain entrance to its stores across the State from 6am on Monday. River Island outlets will be open from 8am.
The Dundrum Town Centre’s sale officially begins at 10am on Monday with the House of Fraser promising 50 per cent off almost everything in store.
All Brown Thomas stores in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway also open on Monday and will offer reductions of between 20 per cent and 50 per cent on selected lines.
The upmarket department store says it hopes to see all its sale stock cleared within two weeks.
The Kildare Outlet Village sale also starts on Monday at 11am with up to 70 per cent discounts promised in many of the outlets.
Many of the department stores and independent retailers across the Republic, including Ryan’s of Galway, will hold off on beginning their sales until the more traditional date of December 27th.
Some sales have already started while other outlets will be offering online promotions this evening ahead of their in-store promotions from next Tuesday.
Carraig Donn, which has a store in Westport and at 28 other locations around the State, begins its online sale from 6pm today at www.carraigdonn.com while its in-store sale starts on Tuesday.
