SPENDING WELL.

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 151, 23 December 1926, Page 12

SPENDING WELL.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

WW«K TRADE m THE CfTY

BRITISH GOODS DEMANDED.

Z: 'X tendency to shop early, to d - ... mand British goods and refuse for- , ieign ones, increased courtesy to Vhop attendants, and a desire to buy "'". tieeful gifts—all these aro characteristics of this year's Christmas -„ .Shopper. The very fact thai; theso y- self-made, rules have been brought !■-■.' into play makes for less rush on /Christmas Eve and steadier shopping over the whole week. * " "Christmas comes but once a year," ,;, iand most people add "Thank good- •' ness." Perjiaps the shopkeeper is the only person who-would like the festive '" Season-oftener, for he reaps the material benefit of his customers' generos-,.,,-ity. The shopper only ha.3 the satisfaction of knowing (or hoping) that his gifts have given pleasure and rr that "It's good for trade." And ■ tirade this season seems well up to.the j..-. .usual Christmas standard. . £['■> EXIT THI! CARD. "The Christmas card is gradually dying in favour of the small price article," said the.supervisor in a large bookshop, where leather, fancy goods, stationery, powders, etc.,- are sold. "Notepaper i. in great demand, particu- , larly when made iip in a box which can -afterwards be used for tho dressing i y table; and, of course, fountain pens ] ••and pocket pencils are always bought. ..The clasii of children's book sold at „ .Christmas improves from year to year, i and is much leas babyish. There is also I • a tendency to shop early, and business I •is clean. By that I mean there's a """quietness and orderliness about it nnV like the,TUsh of sale time. " THE CUSTOMER'S MANNERS. yy "Customers, too, are rnoie reasonable y;.this year. People don't always realise ._ what these five days are to shop assiet- . It's about the limit! No one .•can stand more, and if the general pub- .. lie cOuld only understand -what if; means '■'.'to those- behind the counter they would • ■be more, courteous." This opinion that the general stand--Card of public manners was ..improving was not npheld by the shopwalker in a well-known toy establishment. "No, • "shoppers aren^p awfully considerate. • -They're very impatient, and at Christ- :' -mac time, whon the usual staff is augit is not to be e:rpected that ythe extra'hands should have the same knowledge of ,the etoek as the 'regu- -. -lars,' and it ia'particularly hard on all assistant*, who often have to work at y^nighte replenishing the stock in Ohrist_.inas week."

'•" "BEITIBH, PLEASES" ""'• "As regards purchases? Well, tlje "",'*.t^ro*extremes; the very cheap toy and the very expensive'---toy. Dolls ,and mechanical' toys are in particular de--mand, and we have many inquiries for British goods.: In fact, some will have •British goods or nothing, and this ia y most noticeable among women folk. -" They- are more, explicit than the men ""'in this way. Our trade on the whole is "r ■ exceeding that; of previous years, but ■."-in our ease tho public1 are not shopping ;J«iarlyy They 'looked round' last week '"_'„. and they're shopping this." "JUT EC WITH MUSIC." * * The gramophone record as a Chriet- ';■,', mas box appears to be growing in. popu. "flarity, and one Wellington firm,' at -: Jeast, has issued a seasonable catalogue '."Ifor those who desire "something Christ-"J.-taassy." . The demand seems to be

y; mostly for carols, although higher-class '-,_'' music and the übiquitous jazz both have i*, supporters.

"' THE .MO-HI SPOTE. ,„. Yesterday morning, at one of the _J bfist-knowii drapery establishments in ""'-ta vn, some twenty little sufferers from parilysis, in charge of MissStott (matyr.ron of the Wellington Hospital)., were iyonjoying, not morning tea, but some-y--thing far superior—"pink drinks"— and a visit to Santa Claus, all because -,- of the Commo rcial Travellers' annual i.; Christmas cheque. And so.the Christ--y mas spirit shows itself each year. The gentleman who was looking after the ■Z .small visitors in a moat kindly; way «. said; •""•: "Given; fine weather —_f course, if it Tains it will settle it —our Christmas »":'trade i* far. ahead of last year. The „'■"< demand is distributed over all departments, and the people axe buying utility ■'.. ..'goods and not silly things. For per--»-fumes and soaps there is a tremendous demand, and .business, in the present -unpopular ladies' pastime—cigarettes —is -■. very brisk. It'solves such a problem! —'Does she smoke?' 'Yes.' 'AH y right.' We have been so busy, with business so well, distributed, that it has been impossible to- spare am assistant ... ,j_rom one department to help in an- " other. ± find people shopping esirlier; ; from a quarter to 10 a.m. on, and satis- .' faction that many of the goods, particularly toys, are British, has been expressed by many customers. "BDK.S ON HER rmOEBS,'» „; ..As jewellery is mostly bought for the .. fair sex, there should be a good many happy women this Christmas, if the Z[ trade being done by jewellers in any --indication. "Good quality gifts' are being bought," said the manager cf one „J firm, ""and we are very pleased with ■•the demand after the depressing fore- ■•■■• easts for Christmas trade. It was . prophesied that people were not going ,„to spend much, but they are!- At least, •-that's been our experience. Where they're getting it from I don't know, -but they're spending it." CHBISTMAS PARE. ' Christmas would not be Chrmtmas ZZ without a Christmas dinner, and all the food things that go towards making it re being freely : bought in the city, !'.,'. with -a strong preference' for things "grown within the Empire.' The want of „. "a smoke" is as great as ever, large "." ,lioxes of cigars .and cigarettes being ;; freely bought, bat there is on}y a small demand "for pipeSi Sports shops aro busy with repair work, and 30 are motor dealers, which shows that many „- city dwellers will soon be off to spend ;van "out-of-door" Christmas,, a Christman which, if the weather is kind, " should prove a "merry" one for most, and. give a return to shopkeepers well -. up to the standard of previous years.