WHILE SHOPPINGS in downtown Kingston on Saturday morning became an event of bustling competition, bargains and low, low prices, shopping uptown was tame buy comparison.
There was very little excitement or buzz in the air with the exception of a few stores, like Azans in The Springs Plaza on Constant Spring Road, which had employees lined out at the front rapidly wrapping gifts of mostly household items. The pace of the shoppers was a leisurely stroll along the plazas and very few had more than one shopping bag or gift, if any at all.
For the close mix of male to female, young and elderly, impulsive shopping was a big no-no.
"I'm just really interested in getting in and getting out real quick," Chandra, a shopper, explained as she waited to have her items gift-wrapped upstairs Tropical Plaza. She said her trip had been mainly to get gifts for family and friends.
Houseware, tools and small appliances were popular items, as well as items such as compact discs, cassettes and electronics. Still, toys and clothes, especially children's wear and underwear for both male and female, were at the top of many shopping lists.
At the Right Stuff, in The Springs, sales representative, Jennifer Williams said, "The men are buying up the underwear for the ladies." Men's shirts, ties, tie pins and dresses were also high on the list of sought after merchandise.
However, many shoppers appear to be shopping out of need rather than for the season.
"Right now I am busy planning for my wedding so I'm not even thinking about Christmas," a woman said. "My wedding is my Christmas you can say. I'm not into the Christmas shopping thing."
Judith Henry, another shopper, said, "I'm not shopping for Christmas. I'm just shopping for some things for my home. I don't shop at Christmas. We buy our stuff in February when things are not so expensive. No lights, no gifts, just what we need," she added.
Shopper Chris Rose said she was shopping only for wrapping paper because she had forgot to buy it downtown on Friday. Scoffing at the prices, she said downtown was where the real action was.
"You just dress in your jeans and comfortable shoes and you're all right (downtown)," Miss Rose said. "We bought all our gifts down there yesterday (Friday). Truly the deals are down there. I couldn't believe some of the prices I saw. I used to sell clothes and I don't think I could have competed with those prices," she added.
While a few shoppers complained of high prices, others felt that overall the prices were competitive.
Still the shopping experience should be worry-free with a noticeable increase in police patrols on the plazas.
On Saturday, two batches of more than a dozen policemen and policewomen were seen patrolling the plazas. Sergeant Simon McCormack, the officer in charge of the units, explained that for the season, police recruits as well as office duty personnel had been pulled in to beef up the patrol ranks.
"Due to increases in shoppers we have closed the offices in some cases and taken a break from training to have a few more officers out," he said.
In addition, proprietors of plaza stores have provided a special shuttle service to customers to limit the congestion in the areas. Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday, Michael Ammar, Snr., of Ammar's, said that a major problem that the stores were facing was the lack of parking. As a result, he said, the Village Plaza and Mall Plaza had joined forces with Tropical Plaza to alleviate the parking problem. "We have parking on Red Hills Road, behind Marketplace. We have gotten courtesy buses to transport the shoppers to the plazas in order to help out the parking problem.
The usual rush that has been associated with the Christmas season seems to have got off to a late start for some stores this year. In the uptown shopping areas especially, some stores are reporting that the shoppers turned out in force on Saturday. While he did not comment on the stores in the downtown area, Mr. Ammar said that to his memory, this was the latest he has seen the shoppers come out. "Yesterday (Saturday) was the first real sign of Christmas. I just hope that this will continue today, and Tuesday."
Some of the other storeowners who The Gleaner contacted yesterday were pressed for time to comment on the rate of sales. Two stores, Azan Supercentre and Lee's Fifth Avenue reported that there was a deluge of customers. As usual, the stores will extend opening hours to facilitate the expected last-minute rush. Ammars will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
