Busiest sales in years as shoppers finally open their wallets

Savvy shoppers willing to delay their Christmas splurges until after Dec 25 have made this year’s St Stephen’s Day sales the busiest since the recession began.

Umbrella group Retail Excellence Ireland said there had been a 20% rise in the number of people hitting the shops in search of cut-price deals.

The organisation, which represents stores across the country, said a large number of shops struggled to bring in customers in the lead-up to Christmas as consumers continued to play safe with their hard-earned money.

However, once the sales opened, shoppers who delayed their spending to take advantage of deals flocked to their favourite stores — with some shops reaching 50% of last year’s St Stephen’s Day income within an hour of opening.

“The day could not have gone any better with both footfall and spending significantly up on last year,” said REI chief executive David Fitzsimons.

“One retailer we spoke to had done 50% of last year’s St Stephen’s Day turnover in the first hour yesterday.

“After a somewhat disappointing December for retail, many businesses were carrying significant amounts of stock into yesterday’s sales equating to very deep discounts, which a significant cohort of consumers responded to.

“We have noticed that savvy consumers are willing to postpone fashion, footwear, home, and prestige and luxury brand spending into the sales period.”

The news will be widely welcomed by the retail industry, which saw pre-Christmas income “marginally down” on Dec 2012 levels this year.

A review of more than 300 stores by REI uncovered the situation, which it said has forced stores to cut better deals for post-Christmas shoppers.

“While consumers might have a little more discretionary income than this time last year, even with cash in our wallets we have become habitually frugal and discerning,” said Mr Fitzsimons.

“It would seem that six years of cautious spending behaviour has become a hard habit to break.”

Meanwhile, the National Consumer Agency has warned shoppers who received gift vouchers over Christmas to use them quickly as they may become out of date by the time they hit the stores.

A review of case files by the group found 48% of people who receive vouchers fail to check the terms and conditions involved — meaning they can effectively end up throwing money away.

The consumer advice body received more than 800 calls last year from angry consumers who had been affected by the issue.

It said the majority of concerns related to out-of-date vouchers, a failure to check the terms and conditions involved, and the fact that some businesses which gave out the gift voucher cards shut down before they could be spent.