SHOPS ARE GIFT RAPT
Early rush has businesses confident of ending year on a high
RETAILERS across Cairns are expecting a bumper Christmas season as Far Northern shoppers head out in droves.
More than $9 billion is predicted to be spent across the state in the next few weeks, and local business owners say they are experiencing the financial gains.
Bas Le Mode owner Alison Theurillat said it was already an extremely busy Christmas season in her Oceana Walk Arcade store.
“This is when you do your biggest month for the whole year,” she said.
SHOPPERS are already filling stockings and piling gifts under their Christmas trees across the Far North.
Local businesses have been swept off their feet with an early start to the silly season.
But fashion store Bas Le Mode owner Alison Theurillat said the November rush was a huge win for retailers.
“This is the time of year every retail business waits for,” she said.
“The silly season starts taking off at the end of November. As people are still getting over formals and school and all of that we get really busy.”
Crystal Caves manager Ghislaine Gallo said the people of Cairns were homing in on businesses that offered a unique touch.
“The people that specifically come in looking for Christmas presents are typically buying for someone special, they want to give a unique gift that you won’t find in any chain store,” she said.
National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb said it was the individualised service that kept Far Northerners spending big in the lead-up to Christmas.
“Experiential shoppers won’t just be looking to walk into a store, grab the product they want and leave. They will be looking for a more individualised service that provides a more immersive retail experience, rather than simply a Christmas shopping chore,” she said.
Queenslanders are expected to spend $9.4 billion dollars this Christmas season, the third highest retail revenue projection in the country behind NSW and Victoria.
Cairns shoppers last year spent 4.3 per cent more than they did in 2015, and retailers are expecting the sales increase to continue again in the coming months.