Bargains galore for shoppers

One of the few perks to come out of the credit crunch is all the bargains and offers available on the high street. This year it is a shopper’s paradise as we are spoilt for choice and can easily purchase all our Christmas gifts for a reasonable price if you shop around for the best deals.

However, retailers are that desperate to entice customers into their shops that their advertisements can be misleading. JJB Sports currently have the best offer on Preston’s high street offering up to 95 per cent off their 2008 stock. On visiting the shop, it becomes apparent that this is not reality. Expecting to find sports clothing at knock down prices, it is disappointing to find that discounts are mostly between 20 and 50%.



Read the small print

The only item in the entire store that is actually reduced by 95% is shoelaces, reduced from £2 to 10p. Sales assistant Tracy, points out that the advertisement does say UP TO 95% off but agrees this could be misleading.

JJB is not the only one. Scores of shoppers were disappointed with Woolworth’s half price sale when in reality goods were only reduced by 10 or 20%. As the stores face closure, Woolworths will undoubtedly be forced to slash its prices properly in the coming weeks.

Shopping around for the best deals is hard work and time consuming. It is difficult to judge whether consumers are actually spending more because of the sales or less because of the recession.

(Picture left:Bargain shoes at 20% off in Barratts)


What credit crunch?

Although it is clear that retailers have been severely affected by the credit crunch, it is not always the case for consumers. Shopper Judith Douglas, 43, had taken advantage of the recent 20% discount day event at Marks and Spencer in Preston and bought some gifts for her family. She said: “I always buy in the sales; with all the bargains on offer at the moment in almost every shop it would be silly to pay full price for something.”

Mrs Douglas is a planning consultant from Clitheroe, her husband Michael works for Blackburn Council and they have two sons aged 11 and 13. She said that her joint income has actually increased this year, so she plans to splash out on gifts this Christmas. “I have put in more hours at work and my youngest son no longer needs a babysitter which means we have more money.” She went on to say:

“My husband and I both have secure jobs, a good salary and so the current financial crisis doesn’t really affect us.”

Redundancy

In stark contrast, shopper Gillian Farrimond, 48, is forced to stick to a tight budget but says the sales have not inspired her to buy more than usual. She says: “I haven’t bought much yet and I am not impressed with the sales. The items that have money knocked off are mostly tat and you wouldn’t want to buy it.”

Mrs Farrimond is from Leyland and has a son and daughter aged 22 and 24. Her husband, Paul, works for Leyland Trucks and has been forced to take a four week holiday over Christmas. The motor industry has suffered enormously with falling sales and many car manufacturers have had to cut back on hours and made some employees redundant.

She says:

“It is still uncertain whether Paul will be made redundant in the New Year, he has worked for the company for 28 years and he is very angry about it all.”

It is evident that the financial crisis has affected consumers on a massively sliding scale. Regardless of all the discounts and sales, consumers will still need to buy presents and hopefully retailers will be putting off their Christmas shopping until the last moment to get the best deals.

Preston's struggling market

The woe of high street retailers has been well documented over the past few months. However, it is market traders that are suffering the most this Christmas. Preston market is located in a cold, run down building, next to the bus station and is in dire of renovation. Planning permission has been sought to regenerate that area but will it make a difference?

The market has been a dying institution long before the recession came about. The success of the famous Bury market is sadly a rarity. It has become increasingly difficult for markets to compete against the convenience of supermarkets that sell nearly everything we could possibly want at a cheaper price.

No bargains here

The market is renowned for stocking cheaply priced goods, which normally means special offers and discounts are unnecessary. There are few bargains on offer in Preston market at the moment. Prices in Preston market are similar to what supermarkets and some high street stores offer. So there is little to encourage people to use the market.

Mick Syal owns a ladies fashion stall in Preston market and said that the credit crunch has had a negative impact on his business. He said:

“I do have a few regular customers but I am loosing out to stores such as Primark and supermarkets who undercut me on price. Recently I am struggling to buy stock because money is tight and I doubt I will have a good Christmas this year.”

Threat of Closure

Mick is not alone. In Preston, several market stalls remain unoccupied or only open late morning as there are few customers early in the day. Many stalls are threatened with closure and Graham’s Jewellers is one of them. It is a family run business selling jewellery along with batteries and watch repairs. Owner Graham Bass believes his stall will probably close in the next six months and may have to sell his car to cut back on expenses. He said:

“In the first Saturday in December I did not sell a single thing. In January things will only get worse.”

Gold

Graham’s situation is made worse by the increased price of gold. Graham said:

“I can’t afford to buy gold and it is too expensive to sell so what am I supposed to do?”

Dying customers

The market’s regular visitors are mostly the older generation and it is failing to attract new customers. Graham (pictured above) agreed: “I have been here 28 years and most of my customers have either died or are in nursing homes. The market is not accessible enough and older customers won’t come upstairs as they find it too difficult so I am losing out on a lot of custom.”

The end of an era

It is worrying that the livelihoods of market traders are at risk in what should be the busiest time of the year. The reality is that the combination of the recession and already dwindling customers could spell the end of an era for Preston market. Already there are numerous stalls unoccupied with some not opening until late in the morning due to lack of custom. (See picture below)

Both Mick and Graham realise that the future is grim for their businesses. Grahams summoned up the problem by saying:

“If Woolworths can’t make it then what chance do we have?”

The answer to that does not bare thinking about.

Have a look at the video below to see the problems associated Preston's indoor and outdoor market.

A credit crunch Christmas

Walking down Preston’s high street you would be forgiven for thinking that we are in the middle of the January sales. Finding a shop that does not advertise discounts or offers in the window is a rare find. The recession has hit retailers hard over the past couple of months proving that this year is going to be the ultimate ‘credit crunch Christmas.’ With failing banks, poor interest rates, falling house prices, redundancies and mountains of debt, it is little wonder people are reluctant to part with their hard earned cash over the festive season.

Discounts are nothing new

Advertising sales and discounts before Christmas to encourage spending is not new for 2008. The 3 for 2 offers on Christmas gifts in Boots and Marks and Spencer are as part and parcel of the Christmas package as the nativity set. The difference this year is that people want more for their money and retailers have reacted by introducing lower priced goods normally reserved for the January sales.

British Homes Stores is no exception and is a typical example of what is currently on offer on the high street. In store competitions such as the chance to win a diamond worth £15,000 with every jewellery box purchased along with the chance to win £35,000 by purchasing Christmas crackers is a yearly event.


Bhs manager, Sharon Thompson, says that customers have always expected festive deals.

“Every year we have good offers but this year is the best yet. We have gifts for under £6 as well as reductions of up to half price. Our competitions are always popular and are reflected in the number of sales of crackers and jewellery boxes.”

Shaky Start

From October through to December retailers have reported disappointing sales figures prompting universal price cuts in shops. According to the British Retail Consortium sales fell by 2.6% compared to last year. A price reduction of 20% or more is common on the high street as well as hosting discount days and is a sure sign of desperation by retailers. The most popular of which was the two day 20% off clothing and Christmas goods event by Marks and Spencer.

Preston’s Marks and Spencer, Commercial Manager, Brett Mandell said

“Both days were a huge success and have boosted our sales considerably. I would’t be surprised if Marks and Spencer do something similar in the not too distant future.”

VAT

To encourage spending in shops the government cut VAT from 17.5% to 15% at the beginning of December. In reality this means a saving of £2.50 for every £100 spent which is hardly a big saving for shoppers.

Closing down sales

Unfortunately discounts, sales and VAT cuts haven’t saved some stores from going into administration. The Woolworths, Pier and MFI branches in Preston will close over the coming weeks. Fashion store MK One is disappearing as it has been bought out by Internationale.

Slight improvement

Thankfully in the past few weeks sales have improved. Consumers seem to have held back on spending in the hope of picking up bargains closer to Christmas. You only have to fight your way through the bag laden crowd on Fishergate on Saturday to realise that people are finally spending their money.

Map

Have a look at the map below showing what shops in Preston are offering at the moment. The blue pins show some of the best offers and discounts on offer. The red pins highlight stores which are not as good.

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