SHOPPING WEEK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22545, 9 October 1936, Page 12

SHOPPING WEEK

FIVE-DAY PROPOSAL VIEWS OF RETAILERS SATURDAY TRADE GROWING BUYERS' FREE MORNING "The worker's wife has yet to be heard from and I wonder what she will have to say about it," remarked a city shopkeeper yesterday, when asked what he thought of the reported project of a group of trade union secretaries to organise a movement against Saturday shopping in hopes of bringing about a universal five-day week in retail trade. „ Business men were unanimous that Saturday closing would bo highly inconvenient to their customers. Those dealing in foodstuffs and other goods classed as necessaries rather than luxuries said they were quite sure that the change would cause much more trouble to the buyer than to the seller, who was bound to get the business in any case. Family Shopping Parties By a trick of circumstance the fiveday week enjoyed by factory workers and many others now makes one of the chief obstacles to Saturday closing. It was stated 011 every hand that the week-end shopping habits of the people had greatly changed. Formerly the working man and his wife spent much of the contents of the weekly pay envelope on Friday night. Now they were more inclined to organise a family sho)>ping expedition on Saturday morning. "You can see more young families in the street on Saturday than ever before," said a draper. "From what ] have been able to gather, many housewives with small children used to have a good deal of difficulty in shopping with anv comfort in the daytime. Now it is*quite easy. Either the husband minds the children at home, or h us " band and wife go shopping together, one acting as nursemaid while the other makes purchases. Morning Grows Busier

This informant had found that his firm's Saturday takings had risen very greatly of late at the expense of those on other days; in fact, half the week's business was now done between 7 p.m. oil Friday and dosing time -on Saturday. He was sure that customers greatly appreciated the opportunity of buving drapery in daylight instead of under artificial light. Among them were many factory girls who formerly had had little chance to shop except on Friday nights. A boot retailer said he had found the same tendency among young men, who now came in on Saturdays to buy tennis shoes for the week-end. "Ours is not a luxury business," he saiu. "People have to have boots and shoes. If we closed from Friday to Monday we should have a holiday and many of our customers would find theiz* shopping much less convenient." Refrigerators lor Meat

A butcher doing mainly an over-the-counter trade put- forward two suggestions. Saturday closing for butchers, he was sure, wouid never work until every house, however humble, was provided with an electric refrigerator, and until the weekly pay-day was altered from Friday to, say. Tuesday. "I suppose refrigerators will be as common as gas stoves in course of time," he remarked, "but that will not be for a good many years yet. We close at 4.30 on Fridays, and in summer-time it-is quite impossible to keep meat in an ordinary safe from Friday afternoon until it can he cooked for Sunday's dinner. I don't see how anyone can get over that "difficulty." Saturday Beer Apparently the five-day week has done much to increase the Saturday morning bar and bottle trade in hotels. One licensee who freely admitted this remarked that those who wanted to prevent the working man's wife from buying groceries on Saturday would be illogical if they allowed the working man to go on buying his Saturday beer. "And if they close us down oi\ Saturday we might as well shut up shop altogether." he added. Summed up, the business people's remarks covered most of the reasons given by the Arbitration Court for maintaining a five and a-half day shopping week. These, it was clear, had been made more cogent by the five-day week in other occupations.