Retailers are frantically preparing for the busiest shopping period of the year, but some of them have low expectations for the Christmas season.
Melissa Thomas, a supervisor at Sachi's General Store on Regent Street, says stocks were increased for the season and gents clothing, underwear and the various ladies' tops are topping sales at the moment.
"I think we will have more customers coming down to the end [of the Christmas season]," she said.
Regent Street is not its usual hub of activities in the run up to the Christmas holidays but business is expected to pick up in the days to come.
A shopper at Sachi's, Jamonica Slowe says she will be purchasing at least one of her household appliances, a fan, from Sachi's. Slowe was shopping for undergarments and looking for a wedding gift.
Another shopper looking for bargains on Regent Street said she had already bought a bed(with a mirror) from Ramroop's Furniture Store on Camp Street for $20,000.
Roxanne Bangot, who was also hunting for bargains, said financially it was a little difficult this year, but she was hoping to purchase her curtains from Shamdas Kirpalani on Regent Street at a reasonable price. Accompanying Ban-got was Rita Samaroo, a vendor, who decided to stop vending because her items were not selling. Samaroo says she mainly sells clothing but most persons were asking for household items.
Another vendor, Carol Lucian, who was busy attending to her customers said, "It look like business now start picking up."
Lucian said this year she started selling her items a little earlier in order to increase sales. A number of shoppers were asking about dishes being sold at $100, the teddy bears ($600-$700) and toys ($200) that Lucian laid out on the pavement.
Grinch at the vendors mall
But vendors in the newly opened shopping mall on Water Street were not as optimistic about their prospects.
A quick glance at the mall revealed several abandoned stalls and worst of all few customers.
One vendor at the back of the shopping mall said, "some people would come and just shop at the front and they would [tell other shoppers] do not go at the back, it is a ghost town."
For this vendor the mall/market is not likely to get a large share of shoppers this season. "The market does not have the Christmas feeling... sometimes you get money - some days you do not even see [your] passage[travel allowance]," says
Sandy Singh, a vendor at the front of the market, also frustrated at the slow sales. "Sometimes [at] lunchtime, you can't buy lunch," she added. She said since her stall was relocated to the mall, she is yet to realise a profit since every sale she made, went towards expenses and not towards replenishing her stock.
"In here really ruff, we wish we could go back on the street for the Christmas."
One of the few shoppers in the mall at the time said he shopped there because it had good quality products at reasonable prices.
The stallholders also complained that there were no bathrooms in the mall or a proper fence. Many could not say exactly how much their sales had gone down after relocating to the mall but they did say it was tremendous.
The supervisors at Fogarty's were very optimistic about their sales for the season.
Paula Pollard, the supervisor of Fogarty's middle floor, said sales of ladies and gents shoes were up already: "I am surprised that people are shopping like it's the heart of Christmas." The supermarket supervisor, Alicia Spence said most persons were shopping for greeting cards but only a minimal number of them were buying decorations.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards is encouraging consumers to check the labels of toys for warnings and the toys themselves for mechanical problems.
Evadnie Fields, who is in charge of Information Services at the bureau, says consumers must also check for the toxicology level on the toys, especially for small children who like to put toys in their mouth.