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Retailers in the north wait for shopping surge

by Marlon Madden
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With just over 48 hours to go before Christmas Day, store operators and vendors in the north of the island are hoping for an improvement in business.

And they told Barbados TODAY that given the new lockdown measures announced in key source markets, it was now a matter of waiting to see if things will get any better come next year.

When a Barbados TODAY team visited the quaint town of Speightstown on Tuesday, a handful of tourists could be seen traversing the area and some residents were out busy doing their last-minute Christmas shopping.

Some storeowners offered up varying levels of discounts in an effort to attract a sale, with many of them complaining that business has been “slow” over the past few days.

Ingrid Chase, Owner of Bella Donna Boutique in the Town Square Mall, said while she had her regular customers, she was yet to witness any new business for this season.

“We still have two more days, and we are pretty last minute, so I expect Christmas Eve to be a little bit crazy. Also, I usually have a balance of tourists and locals, but from the tourists’ point of view, it has been very quiet,” she said.

Chase said business has been “okay” for her this year given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that after the lockdown in June she had to offer sales while keeping prices as low as possible, taking into consideration the number of people unemployed.

“So you just managed to keep your head above water. I try not to have too much of this big expectation of all these things that are going to happen. You have to be realistic,” she said.

Chase said she was now in a wait and see mode for next year, pointing out that despite the advent of several vaccines, some of Barbados’ key source markets for tourists were having challenges and entering new rounds of shutdown.

“So I don’t want to build my hopes up too high and make any predictions. I am going to go day by day and see what happens because every time you go to sleep and wake up something new happens. So the thing is to just be optimistic, hope for the best and keep on going,” said Chase.

Beauty Exchange Store Manager Fay Maxwell told Barbados TODAY despite only two days to go before Christmas Day, she was still waiting to see if there would be an uptick in shopping, though admitting that it was expected that Christmas shopping would not be like previous years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are encouraging customers by offering sales, but it is not like previous years.”

However, Maxwell said she was hopeful that with the vaccines, people should be able to start returning to work sometime next year, which should stimulate economic activity.

“Hopefully when the hotel sector re-opens and people are working, things should be better,” she said.

One store owner who did not want to be identified, said this year was nothing to shout about because people were holding back on spending given the uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said while some were browsing the clothing store, they were very reluctant to make a purchase “because they said they don’t have the money and if they do have the money, they said they have to pay bills and go to the supermarket first before buying clothing.

“Speightstown don’t have that real hustle and bustle like Bridgetown. It has been a really crazy year,” she added.

Meanwhile, food vendor in the area Sherry Layne, said she has started to see a small increase in business as people put their final preparations in place for their Christmas menus.

“People don’t have money to spend so whatever little they have they have to make do with,” she added.

Another store owner who requested anonymity, complained that not notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not believe authorities had done enough to encourage business in Speightstown.

In fact, he said there were simply too many restaurants that seemed to cater to tourists and this was not bringing business to the area for store operators.

He said despite two days to go before Christmas Day, and just over a week before New Year’s Eve celebrations, he was still waiting to see if business would increase.
(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)

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