Some of the country’s biggest department stores are offering discounts of up to 25 per cent off everything as warnings of a downturn in sales begin to gather pace. Retailers including Arnotts, Debenhams and Clerys are all holding major sale days with a full 23 days still left before Christmas. Arnotts held a weekend bonanza sale this weekend offering up to 20 per cent off items including clothing, homeware and cosmetics.
A staff member described the sale as a way to draw more customers into the store, saying, “we’re looking for more business. Our sale would usually start at a later date, on December 27, but we’re having it much earlier this year”. Debenhams also held their first pre-Christmas sale a full month before Christmas day and offered up to 25 per cent off everything in stock.
The department store chain is planning to run a second pre-Christmas sale on December 8 in the hope of enticing even more shoppers. Clerys spokesperson Lisa Jones says the department store’s 20 per cent sale, which will take place from 9am to 9pm tomorrow, is an annual tradition to reward loyal customers rather than a “reactionary” marketing strategy.
The early festive sales are going ahead despite a recent annual consumer survey of Christmas spending reporting that Irish people will be the biggest spenders among European Christmas shoppers again this year. Deloitte’s annual consumer survey found Irish households will spend 1,431 on average this year, an increase of 6.9 per cent on last year, despite growing uncertainty surrounding our economic future.