CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17957, 8 December 1932, Page 11

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

“UTILITY GIFT” BUYING i T FAIR VOLUME OF BUSINESS Shopkeepers in Gisborne who deal in seasonal goods report that a substantial amount of Christmas buying has been dope already by forehanded members of the public. It is hopeless to anticipate a Christmas rush of trade on the scale known a few years ago, but firms which have reduced their overhead expense’s probably will be able to show turnover figures yielding about the same proportion of profit as in earlier years, a prominent citizerj stated this morning. A strong feature of this year’s shopping for the Christmas season is “utility buying.” many people having turned their attention to gifts of the useful rather than the purely ornamental or novelty type. Four .years ago, even, it possible to' sell at this timo of the year almost anything! with an attractive package or incorporating ia novel movement or decoratiye idea. To-day, buyers are demanding not only good value and attractive “get-up’d in Christmas wares] but also the feature of utility and wearing quality. Money does ‘ not come easily into- the "hands 'of the 'average citizen, and there is far more judgment "being shown this season, even by the younger generation, than in any previous year since the boom times following the war. “Buy British” seems to he as good a slogan now as at any time throughout the year. All things relating to price and . quality being equal, there is a definite- preference for British-made articles, and some shoppers'are prepared to pay a little more for the British article than for anything of a like nature produced in a foreign country. Shopkeepers have discovered, too, that the quality values of various lines of merchandise are better recognised by the average shopper than formerly, and this fact helps tp sell many British commodities which formerly lagged, simply because their inherent superiority called for higher pricing than an apparently similar Continental article might require. “If the public wants cheap lines, there are plenty of products of the cheap-labor countries available, with which the Empire products cannot compete ; but if quality and a natural sentimental preference for British goods are the determining factor, a customers needs can be filled with the same facility,?* remarked a shopkeeper, discussing the trend of trade in .anticipation of Christmas. “We have found that ‘British and best’- is still the Watchword with a farce proportion of buyers, -who are the reailv economical shopkeepers because get the best value lor the mono Ifry lay out.” This b"«M-u*s man added that the Empire manufacture's had shown ‘great enterprise m their preparations few the Christmas trade r h- and that foreign-made articles were TKw even superficially more attractive than tin average of the British wares.