Consumers spend less over Xmas

Cape Town - Father Christmas has apparently not bestowed unexpected gifts on most retailers.

According to retailers who spoke to Sake24, business has generally been weaker than in previous years.

This was, however, no surprise for most retailers, who expected poorer trade.

"We definitely had weaker sales than in previous years, but we expected that," said Vanessa Isaacs, assistant manager of Toys "R" Us in Canal Walk. This despite the fact that a considerable number of marked-down items were on sale. Sales of expensive items were also down.

Clothing stores were not spared the tighter purse-strings. "Our shop was not as busy as in previous festive periods, but sales were more or less as expected. However, traffic picked up from December 31 when our sales started," reported Jason Ludick, floor manager of Foschini in Tiger Valley.

He reckons the appetite for cheaper goods has certainly increased.

One exception appears to be Exclusive Books. Simon Brooks, a spokesperson for Exclusive Books in Canal Walk, reports that the shop was "amazingly busy" over the festive season. "We expected sales to be very poor, but about a week and a half before Christmas things were pretty crazy. Queues stretched as far as the door."

In his view traffic was much the same as in previous years, but people bought smaller and cheaper items.

Food retailers were, as expected, still busy, with consumers generally buying less expensive items.

- Sake24

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