Shopping frenzy expected

Retailers anticipate better sales due to last-minute purchases

Retailers are anticipating a shopping frenzy today and tomorrow as shoppers rush to do last-minute buying to usher in the Year of the Rat next Saturday.

Retail consultant Woo May Foong said sales are expected to spike in the next two days as this is the last weekend leading to the festival.

“We can expect the sales of various items for Chinese New Year to pick up in the next few days,” she said.

She said sales activities for the celebration were reported to be lukewarm since early this year as parents were busy preparing their kids for school.

Woo also said that restaurants are also making roaring business with pre-Chinese New Year “saugong” (end-of-year business dinners) reservations ahead of the celebration.

She said retailers are facing steep competition from online competitors who offer good bargains all year round.

“Unlike previous years, where shoppers waited for big sales, today they went online to find good buys all year round.

“As such, retailers are fighting for business,” she said.

IOI City Mall leasing head Catherine Chin said that the Chinese New Year sales picked up last weekend.

“We expected all malls to be super packed this weekend,” she said.

She said business has been slow in the first two weeks of this year due to the Christmas and back-toschool sales.

Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said their online platform sees a high sales volume on self-install CCTV cameras in the past weeks.

He believes with the long Chinese New Year holidays ahead, people are putting these devices in place to monitor their homes when they are away.

He said there has also been a demand for child car seats.

“We believe consumers are taking road safety seriously, especially when they are doing more travelling during the festival season,” he said.