Vendors anticipate last-minute holiday shopping
– ‘it’s a Guyanese thing’
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, December 3, 2019
With Christmas three weeks away, some shoppers are drafting their shopping lists while vendors remain optimistic about sales.
Junan Sinjules, a local vendor who has been selling haberdasheries on Regent Street for 35 years now, expects the pace of sales to pick up in two weeks. “I think this year will be much better than last year because remember the bonus [people] are getting. People will shop,” he opined.
Sinjules will not be caught in the traditional last-minute shopping. “I buy my things upfront because I am working Christmas time. I don’t get caught in it. I shop before Christmas, do everything way before Christmas.”
Another vendor, Timbian Drakes, is anticipating a good season “So far it’s going quite well from last year … I expect to get a lot of money from [this] Christmas season because I am selling.”
Drakes has a variety of articles ranging from household items to all the necessities for children’s school parties.
Drakes, who has been vending for 16 years, noted that it is within the Guyanese culture to do last-minute shopping. “Normally for Guyanese, it’s a last-minute shopping, always, whether with money or without money. They always like the last-minute fuss and rush.”
Meanwhile, Ann Hendricks, a mother of two, was searching for carpets, curtains, and other things for her home. She said there is a notable difference in the season this year.
“It’s shaping up pretty okay … from last year to now, you would have had to wait longer for the speed to pick up, but this year we are hitting it with a boom because not forgetting our bonuses, that’s what we are hanging in on.” Hendricks intends to ‘shop until she drops’ when she gets her bonus.
Patricia Alfonso, with bags in hands, said that she was shopping for her family and friends. Alfonso added that she is enjoying shopping because she is finding many things she could not before.