PoS mall shopping slow a week before Xmas

Pedestrian traffic was slow at two major north Trinidad malls on Friday, with many stores having few to no customers.

At Long Circular Mall, the mall was bustling, however, as would be expected the Friday before Christmas. Some patrons said they found parking difficult.

At Toy Hill, customer Roger, who was shopping with his wife, said getting a parking space was impossible.

“This is our first Christmas experience. It hasn't been so good. I nearly turned back – we ended up parking in the road and we had to walk pretty far, so we have to watch how much stuff we buy. And with so many bandits about, it's not safe to say someone will wait while the other person gets the car.”

At Detour, cashier Keisha Stewart said everything was going well so far and customers were trickling in slowly.

“Some days are busier than others and we expect it will get busier next week. Last year was busier, but we can't complain, because we know the situation the country is in, so we have to say thank God we're still getting sales every day.”

At Kenny’s Sports Centre, manager Colin Legall said sales have been slow so far, but people were steadily coming in to buy sporting goods. He attributed this to people not having as much money to spend and also people not wanting to come out in public to shop.

At West Mall, there was more of a bustle as people moved from store to store and through the mall.

Francis Fashion’s manager Pearl said the store had seen a slight increase in sales since Black Friday.

“it's not what we'd expect, because we would expect it to have more. But we're thankful for what it has. I think, well, we're praying that next week we'll have more people than we have now. However, you're seeing a steady flow of people, whether it be five, ten, or 15 customers at a time.”

Customer Judith Smith said her shopping experience had been good so far, although parking was a problem depending on the time of day.

“I follow the arrows where they say to go this way or that way and social distance, trying to make the best of it. Finding parking has been ok so far. It's much more crowded, so I try to do it early in the morning, But here I am after lunch – that's life. It gets more crowded from lunchtime onward, I find. But if you want to give a gift to somebody, you find yourself here.”