A late surge for holiday shoppers

Hamish Heard
GEELONG retailers have reported a mixed bag of results following the mad holiday shopping season, according to Geelong Retailers Association president Hayden Spurling.
And the trend of delaying Christmas purchases until the last minute has continued, with the season getting off to a slow start before finishing with a bang, Mr Spurling said.
“The surge came much later this year and that’s a trend that’s been continuing for years,” he said.
“I think people are busier in general and they work until closer to Christmas and also they know the shops will be open right up until the last minute.”
He said many customers were also deferring purchases to take advantage of bargains offered at the annual post-Christmas sales.
Mr Spurling said 2006 had been a tough year for many local retailers while others had enjoyed a bumper year.
“A lot of retailers would say it’s been a tough year and it has been harder to achieve budget figures and this is, of course, put down to a number of things like petrol prices and interest rates,” Mr Spurling said.
“The money is definitely out there but people need to be encouraged a bit more to spend it at the moment. They’re being a bit more cautious.”
Geelong Chamber of Commerce executive officer Lawrie Miller said cooler weather over the Christmas week had brought swarms of holiday makers into the region’s shops.
“The weather hasn’t been all that conducive to staying at the beach so the visitors are coming into Geelong and spending money,” Mr Miller said.
Elsworthy’s Retravision owner Trevor Elsworthy said the store had enjoyed a busy Christmas period.
“Sales were definitely up on last year so it was certainly a positive way to end a good year for us,” Mr Elsworthy said.