Slump on the High Street

The expected Christmas boom has failed to materialise on the high street.

Shoppers last week in St Helier decreased by around 10% - about 20 thousand people.

And according to UK stats, online retailers are reaping the benefits with a huge jump in sales.

You may think with the financial pressures of a couple of years ago seemingly starting to ease, sales would have increased this Christmas.

But that doesn't appear to be the case, in St Helier there's more than 21,200 fewer shoppers than there was in the same week last year.

That's more than £225,000 shoppers this year, compared with nearly a quarter of a million for the same week in 2009 - a fall of roughly 10 per cent.

It's not just in Jersey. Guernsey doesn't keep a record of how many shoppers come to town, but Creasey's say they have experienced a downtun.

It's the same story in Jersey, though there is cause for optimism.

Richard MacKenzie is the town manager and says it's because Christmas is at the end of next week, so many shoppers are putting it off until then.

He said: "I don't think retailers really get concerned until they actually get to Christmas Eve because it's not one week that you take in isolation, it's the whole Christmas period and I think they'll be able to tell what Christmas has been like when they close their doors on Christmas Eve, and that's the thing that really concerns retailers."

With a week to go, retailers in both islands are hoping the next seven days will give them something to smile about in the new year.

(from CTV)

Why has Christmas become all about money and spending???? Anyway as Mrs McNutty Bow Wow said shoppers should let it be known that they don't like being ripped off with VAT from the English firms .... so shop on line and receive your stuff VAT FREE - sorted!!! Not such a Happy Spend-Fest!!!

bow wow is quite happy for us to spend online and get the vat off but doesnt like the pick and pack companies to trade in guernsey double standards surely...isnt it time the government was looking at the ripoff uk companies trading here on the hight street.

they must have made up for it all today the town was buzzing i was in a queue in HMV for over 20mins it was just so busy.

Every Year we get the same doom and gloom news ...... Christmas spending down.......shops in decline ..... shop keepers queuing up for the dole....then just before Christmas (when it was always customary to do your shopping) Surprise, Surprise..........spending at a record all time high !!! Change the record please

I'd hate to live with Karma because she is always right (well most of the time)

I agree Karma we get this every year! I have done alot of my shopping online this year as I simply can't be bothered to go round town for hours, looking for things that will be more expensive and I really dislike town now - I find it more stressful going round town for hours and hours when I can shop on the computer!.

I absolutely agree on the stress that is town who needs it :-)x

Also shops and businesses have got into the habit of treating Christmas as an excuse to assault our senses with phrases such as 'you will have a perfect Christmas if you buy ??? ???? - or better still no Christmas will be complete without ???? ???? !!! etc etc' I am not a religious person (in the churchgoing sense) but I do feel that the commercialising of it is close to obscene