JERSEY’S high street shops have reported a “very positive” Christmas season – despite Islanders feeling the squeeze from high inflation.
Reports of a “rammed” King Street throughout December and sales in line or above last year’s have left retailers “cautiously optimistic” about the future.
However, some have warned of uncertainty over the coming years with rising mortgage rates and government plans to scale back parking in town.
A spokesperson from SandpiperCI, which runs Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Morrisons and Costa Coffee in Jersey, said: “December sales were very positive – stores were busy in the run up to Christmas.”
Gerald Voisin, owner of the Voisins department store, said that totals were “slightly up on last Christmas” – and a busy first few days of the post-Christmas sales had meant the entire month looked “very positive indeed”.
He explained: “That’s great, because we were very concerned about how this Christmas season would turn out.
“With rising interest rates, more money is being paid into mortgages instead of being left in bank accounts, so disposable income has evaporated.
“If someone is on a fixed rate mortgage which doesn’t expire until next year, we don’t know how those future increases will affect spending in the longer-term.”
Simon Youden, store director of De Gruchy, said he felt the increased cost of living had not damaged trade during the three months from October to December which businesses call “the golden quarter”.
He added: “We had quite a late start to Christmas this year, and it was very quiet in early December, but people were being savvy and waiting for pre-Christmas bargains.
“Local produce did very well for us. People wanted to ‘shop local’ and we have pop-up shops selling local produce, which were very successful.”
Darren Vibert, the owner of SeedeeJons said it had been a “phenomenal” month, adding: “It was very busy, which is really encouraging.”
“I’m massively up on this time last year as well,” he continued, noting that vinyl records had been particularly popular with younger customers.
“I opened right from the start on the late-night Thursdays and the Sundays. The earlier weeks were quiet but they certainly did pick up.
“I was asking customers what it was like out on the high street and there were a couple of weeks in a row when they said it was rammed.”
And it was the second Christmas for Wild Atlantique in King Street, one of the newest businesses in the town centre, specialising in homeware, clothes, accessories and furniture.
Owner Karen Mackay said: “We were really busy – we did much better than last year. I would say we were up about 40 per cent on last December, so it was pretty good.
“We are a new shop so people who don’t shop in the town often didn’t always know about us before. And we have adjusted our buying to what customers want.”
Ms Mackay said clothes, furniture and interior design services were particularly busy but added: “Across the board, everything was selling more.”
And she said the business had withstood the cost of living squeeze. “Around 40 per cent of our stock is less than £30.”
Robert McAllister, owner of Jack’s clothes shop, said totals had been “roughly the same as last year” and that the business was “fortunate to have a good following of regular customers who come to us for our prices.”
But, he said there were “concerns about eroding car access into town” following a recent report on sustainable transport policy in which Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet committed to making it “less convenient” and more expensive to park in the centre of town.
Steve Wilkinson, owner of Mad Hatter Surf Shop, said that his St Helier store was up on last year, while the St Brelade store was down, partially owing to “knock-on effect of people concerned about the cost of living.”
Consistently wet and blustery weather had also knocked his profits, however, he said he remained “cautiously optimistic” about 2024.
