Christmas is 36 hours away and so chances are that over the next 24 hours you will be finishing up last minute shopping and house preparations. But after a tough financial year that saw record inflation soak up everyone’s disposable income - this is a blue Christmas for sure. But how bad is it? Keith Swift took to the city streets with that deathless question – how is the Christmas coming?
Keith Swift Reporting,
Shoppers had already made their lists and today we met them checking it twice as they prepare for a lean Christmas.
Shopper #1,
“We have to really budget and stretch the dollar but we di go through though.”
Shopper #2,
“It’s a little less than last year but it is there…well we have to do a lot of window shopping and looking at prices and trying to make sure we can stretch it.”
Shopper #3,
“I am doing my last minute shopping, trying to make a decision. I have lots of family members to buy for and I hope I make the right choices because you know people always want special things for Christmas but I am going with the list. My son wrote a long list of about 3 pages so I am trying to find the things on it and trying to play Santa.”
Keith Swift,
Was money a factor?
Shopper #3,
“I guess it always is but a lot of people budget because they know it is a special time and you make do with what you have, even if it is something small or you have saved up for it and it’s something big; just the fact that you have given a token or give something – it is an appreciation that people give for that.”
Shopper #4,
“I am not really concentrating on the money, I am a Christian and I think the real reason for the season is Jesus and I am keeping that in mind so I am not letting the money part worry me.”
And while there is a shortage of money – there is a bounty of Christmas spirit.
Shopper #5,
“I am feeling it because I know the Lord as my saviour and so I am feeling the Christmas spirit.”
Shopper #6,
“Christmas alright dig. Santa is coming and bringing the thing under the tree. I am
feeling it lively.”
Shopper #3,
“I am doing more shopping than taking care of the house and buying stuff to eat and that kind of thing, even though I love to eat but I think I am enjoying the Christmas season.”
Keith Swift,
What do you like about Christmas?
Shopper #3,
“Well I like the fact that people take it as a time to enjoy each other. In terms of family there is a lot of celebration, there is a lot of preparation for the new year, you buy things for your home, you do a lot of things to make contact with family members you haven’t seen for a while so I think that’s what I like about Christmas.”
Shopper #7,
“The way I see Christmas is that everyday is Christmas as long as you have your family and it doesn’t have to be an issue with money, it depends on what you do with it and you give the cheer to whomsoever you meet.”
Keith Swift,
Are you feeling the Christmas spirit?
Leelah Vernon, Shopping
“Well dah we have to have the spirit you know. I feel it.”
But no amount of joy can cheer up retailers.
Leopold Silva, Venus Store
“The Christmas is kind of slow this year. It is kind of slow. I am not why it is slow but it is a bit slow.”
Jaclyn Roe, Hofius
“Christmas always brings its own momentum and its own excitement but looking at sales, they definitely haven’t been higher this year than years in the past; they are down.”
Keith Swift,
What are people buying and not buying?
Jaclyn Roe,
“Christmas is always a time for decorating the house so curtains, marley, paint, and anything to do with decorating the house is always a guarantee and later on people start buying toys.”
Keith Swift,
What are people buying this year?
Leopold Silva,
“People are buying the cheaper items. People are buying a lot of digital camera, games, and some people are venturing into the big television, 42 inch and 37 inch televisions. But you can see people are very careful I think.”
Keith Swift,
What would you estimate is the decline in sales?
Leopold Silva,
“I probably could take a guess of a 30% drop which is significant for us at this time.”
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited and Prepared for the internet by Keith Swift
