SHOPPING.. Aoife and Shauna Colton pick up a few last minute gifts in the run up to Christmas.
CHRISTMAS shoppers across the county are bucking the trend and coming out in droves to bring home festive cheer.
That’s the corporate view from the leading stores in the county, and this despite a fall-off in the volume of southern shoppers.
But, even at that, southerners from towns and villages across the border are prominent among shoppers at McCabes Centre Store in Newtownbutler.
Declan McCabe, who operates the store with his wife, Lynda, reported ‘a very busy’ pre-Christmas trade which he expected to continue.
“The day of the recession has disappeared. We have had a good Christmas so far, and the fact we are very close to the border is a factor. There is still better value this side of the border.”
Further from the border, however, there was a marked decrease in the numbers of southern shoppers.
Jim Masterson, the manager of Marks and Spencers, noticed that on 8th December which, being a Holyday, traditionally draws shoppers from across the border.
But, he reported that not alone was Christmas good, in-store trading had been good all summer and had continued since then.
“We expected a quiet September, but trade has actually been quite busy right through, and generally speaking, that’s the mood among other traders in Erneside.”
Michael McFadden, the manager of the ASDA store in Enniskillen told the Herald that trolley loads stacked with hundreds of pounds worth of merchandise going out of his store was not uncommon.
“But, what we are seeing is a lot more customers who are being a bit more shopping savvy. In other words, they’ve been picking up wee bits over the last couple of months rather than one big outlay.”
Darren Given, the manager of the SuperValu store in Lisnaskea explained that buying fresh food ruled out advance purchasing on that scale.
As for trading, he said things were ‘looking positive’: “The way Christmas has fallen this year, we expect a big rush over the next three days, particularly in fresh food.”
As for the volume of southern shoppers, he said his focus was aimed at its regular customers.
“They are our first loyalty, they’re the people who are in every day, week in week out, and anything we get on top of that is a bonus.”
In Dunnes Stores, Enniskillen, the trading picture was equally upbeat.
“We’re as busy as last year despite the fact the southern trade isn’t what it used to be. Why? The euro rate, which is 78/79p at the moment. We are about 20 per cent cheaper, so when you take the interest rate into account, it isn’t worth their while”, said a spokesman.
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