It is October going on November and signs of Christmas are evident across Barbados as stores look to capitalize on early sales and customers go after early offers.
There were no carols being played nor candlelight to spice up the mood but it was definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Yesterday the SATURDAY SUN visited a number of businesses to chat with managers and view the decorations and displays on show which are expected to adorn the various homes at Christmas time.
Two big Christmas trees greeted us at the door of Carters General Store in Wildey, St Michael.
Bryan Hurley, director of marketing, said that every year the store was committed to showcasing and selling Christmas trees and decorations from as early as October.
“We bring out Christmas decorations to retail as that drives sales. In these economic times you want to drive sales because we got to keep people employed,” he said.
According to the director of marketing, Carters had never failed to celebrate the island’s Independence in November and will be running a buy local drive which will see local artists and vendors promoting their products throughout the month.
“But we do not decorate the store for Christmas until the end of November when Independence is over,” Hurley stressed.
At Do It Best Home Centre, Sheraton Mall, store manager Juliet Craigg said she believed some people were shopping early in an effort to avoid the usual rush, while others were waiting for sales which should come close the December 25.
“Some people are waiting for sales and are just looking at what they may want and are not afraid to be in that rush. Then there are some who want to come early and choose from a wide variety. We have different colours and decorations.”
Like Hurley at Carters, Craigg noted that though there were some patriotic customers who questioned the store’s decision to display Christmas decorations early, Do It Best always observed Independence.
“We ask customers to try not to be upset, we are not forgetting Independence. For Independence we put up our banners and stuff, but at the end of the day it’s a business.”
Christmas stock at ShopSmart, St James, arrived at the store on Thursday and yesterday Carlisle Harewood, assistant operations manager, was busy leading the unpacking and arrangement of those items on shelves. Stock from last year was on sale.
Harewood said while he was aware that stores brought out their Christmas decorations as early as September, ShopSmart aimed to put out theirs as close to the season as possible.
“For people who get paid by the month, from now it is basically two more pay days from December. And after November we know that people got their stuff already,” said the operations manager.
He said that some customers appreciated the opportunity to shop for their decorations early.
“This morning a woman came in here and we weren’t even packing the items on the shelves yet and she took up a whole set of stuff and went to the cashier,” he said.
