WA retailers are bracing for a slump in Christmas sales as the global financial crisis deepens. After shoppers spent a record $2.8 billion in a Christmas binge last year, Perth department stores have predicted an end to a long trend of Christmas retail records. Myer and David Jones said their WA stores were expecting trade to slow because of the economic climate.
While neither store will use pre-Christmas sales in the hope of luring customers, a spokeswoman for Myer said local stores were expanding free family events. ‘њThere is a chance that parents won’t be able to buy those big toys that the children are after so it is more about creating that Christmas atmosphere,’ќ she said.
‘њEverybody knows with the economic crisis that is currently occurring there would be a correlation with how people were spending and coming into the stores.’ќ ‘њTalking to the customers we have found out that they are planning ahead and taking into consideration that times are getting tougher.’ќ She said parents were taking advantage of a toy sale at Myer and the number of lay-bys on cheaper products had increased.
A David Jones spokeswoman said the company had no official stance on the issue, but given the current environment there was an expectation that sales would be down. WA Retail Traders Association executive director Wayne Spencer said retailers needed to back off and look at what consumers were experiencing, particularly in the run up to Christmas.