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by Rachel Chan
DEPARTMENT stores are facing pressure from cheaper, smaller shops this Christmas as shoppers hunt for value and good bargains.
At least 10 savvy shoppers approached by my paper said they were cutting back - not necessarily on spending per se, but by spending more measuredly on "useful gifts".
These included spending on educational toys, books, clothing, kitchen equipment and beauty products.
Promotional fairs, storewide sales and small gift shops were shopper magnets, with below-$20 gifts flying off the shelves.
"I'm going to spend only $30 on my most expensive gift," said a Ngee Ann City shopper who wanted to be known only as Ms Soh.
The administrative assistant, who is in her 30s, was still comparing prices between stores when my paper approached her.
"My budget is the same as last year, but I'll be buying only useful gifts," she added.
A recent statement released by the Singapore Department of Statistics showed that October's retail sales had fallen a seasonally adjusted 2.1 per cent from the previous month and decreased 3.6 per cent from the same month the previous year.
Analysts had predicted that consumer spending will continue sliding in the fourth quarter.
At a high-end fashion boutique in Ngee Ann City, Massimo Dutti, shoppers were scarce even though it was the fourth day of its 30 per cent-off sale.
"The recession has hit our sales, which have dwindled by about 30 per cent as compared to last Christmas," said a sales assistant. "Last year, people were spending indiscriminately, sale or no."
At other major department stores, queues at checkout counters were surprisingly short.
But the Takashimaya toy fair, Candy Empire, gift shops like Precious Thots and Action City, and fashion retail stores such as Pull and Bear and Esprit, which were holding sales, were crowded with shoppers.
"We bought sandals at New Urban Male, facial products at The Face Shop and car accessories from Action City," said undergraduate Jacinth Lau, 20.
"We're getting things we're sure will be pretty suitable for our friends," her boyfriend Benjamin Lau, 20, an NSman, added.
At Sensu Fashion, a pushcart chain selling women's bags and accessories, sales have dropped by at least 70 per cent, said owner Karen Teng, 26.
"My turnover is usually $20,000 per month during peak seasons, like Christmas," she said. "But this month, I don't think I'll even hit the average of $10,000 to $15,000."
rachchan@sph.com.sg
For more my paper stories click here.
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