Despite slow Xmas sales in Port of Spain – Toys, curtains remain top sellers

WHILE many business owners and vendors said sales leading up to Christmas were the slowest they've ever seen, workers at toy stores and businesses selling curtains said these two categories of items remained top sellers.

Newsday visited businesses in both uptown and downtown Port of Spain on Wednesday afternoon and there was barely any foot traffic.

Dulcie Furlonge, collaborative owner of local artisan store Our Space said surprisingly, December was the business' worst month this year when it comes to sales.

She said those who shopped there for Christmas mostly got earrings, as they were on sale, and snacks.

She added that even her colleagues who sell similar products have expressed their disappointment in the rate of sales this year, with some even getting no sales at all at pop-up markets.

A worker at another store – Body Accents – said this year's sales were even slower than last year's, but that most people bought perfumes as gifts there.

At Stephensons Fashions, workers said while there were many people who browsed items inside the store, barely anyone bought anything. Top sellers there were shirts and suits.

Keith Khan's bookstore workers said they got a couple of sales from people who got their children storybooks, noting that most opted to buy toys and not books.

When Newsday visited Mode Alive, several people were browsing curtains. Workers said curtains have been selling like crazy despite sales being slow for other things, adding that the crowd we were seeing at the time was nothing in comparison to just before Christmas.

And at toy store Cookies n Cream, workers said they were "spinning every minute" just before Christmas because of how many people were shopping. It was not a slow sale month for them, with people still shopping for toys for children. Other stores selling toys in downtown Port of Spain still had a fair amount of foot traffic.