Reduced remittances likely to impact on Christmas spending
With Christmas less then a month away businesses in commercial Georgetown are still reluctant to make any concrete predictions as to how retail trading will fare during th e holiday period.
Christmas is by far the busiest and, for the retail trade, the most lucrative period of the year. This year, however, retail traders have expressed an uneasiness about the likely impact of the anticipated fall in overseas remittances on consumer spending.
When Stabroek Business visited downtown Georgetown on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday last there was no persuasive evidence of the brisk trade in consumer goods customarily associated with ‘Christmas shopping.” Some people with whom this newspaper spoke said that their visits to the city were intended to assess prices in order to prepare their Christmas budgets,
Significantly, and in response to a question raised by Stabroek Business, several persons said that the volume of their .shopping during the holiday period would be dependent on remittances, mostly from the United States, which, they said, were yet to materialize.
Last Wednesday Stabroek News also spoke remittance service. Asked whether their visit to the remittance agency had to do with collecting monies sent from abroad, seven of the twenty persons with whom this newspaper spoke said that they were simply “checking” to determine whether anticipated remittances had arrived. Of the remainder, all of whom had collected remittances, six who said that they receive remittances regularly told Stabroek Business that what they had just received was less than the customary amount.
Meanwhile, businessmen with whom Stabroek Business spoke appeared to be hoping that the scarcity of shoppers up to a few days ago was linked to the fact that holiday shopping had simply not started. Proprietors at wholesale and retail stores in Regent and Water streets were expressing nervousness over the possibility that the volume of money currently in circulation might be insufficient to cover the retail costs of Christmas imports. According to the proprietor of a Regent street cellular phone store “the amount of goods imported by traders for Christmas cannot be covered by local wages and salaries. If remittances dry up we could have a difficult Christmas,” he said.
At some of the larger department stores in Georgetown there was more evidence of |the hustle and bustle” associated with Christmas shopping. and sales assistants at Courts’ Main street outlet were reporting what they said was the start of a likely “Christmas rush” to secure “the usual household items.” However, according to a Water street retailer since most of the shopping at Courts and other housefold furnishing outlets was linked to no deposit purchases that could not be used as a barometer to measure consumer liquidity. “The real fear among the high street retailers is that they may well be left with large volumes of seasonal stocks because of reduced consumer spending. The problem with those kinds of stocks, particularly things like decorations and lights, is that they become difficult once the holidays are over,” he added.
Meanwhile, two businesses that are focusing on the ‘high end’ of the Chritsmas shopping market are reporting brisk sales and orders for high-priced Christmas gifts. “Although spending power is limited there are still a number of better-off consumers who can afford expensive Christmas gifts. They may not be as large a number as the ordinary shoppers but the prices of these gifts which include things like jewelry and colognes makes business worth the while, a city jewellery store proprietor told Stabroek Business.
And even as businesses continue to worry about the likelihood of reduced consumer pre-Christmas consumer spending, Stabroek Business has learnt the improved arrangements for expediting imports put in place by the Customs and Trade Administratiobn and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are going well, While some businessmen told Stabroek Business that the sheer volume of business was creating some delays, others say that they have actually benefited from the commitment given by Customs that goods would be cleared within five days providing shipping documents could be made available to Customs in advance of the arrival of cargo in the country.