ONLY weeks ago retailers on the South Coast were preparing for what had the potential to be one of the worst Christmas trade periods for years.
However it has turned out to be among the best.
Reports from Berry to Eden are showing high visitation rates backed up by equally high spending through the Christmas-New Year period.
Fuelling the retail boom is Nowra’s seems place where people simply stocked up on their way to somewhere else, to a town breaking into the more lucrative coffee, lunch, browse and shop stop.
Many Nowra retailers said figures for December 2008 looked as good, as if not better, than the previous year’s.
Surf and Turf owner and CBD Promotions Committee chair Catherine Shields said she occasionally quizzed her customers about their holiday and shopping habits.
“I think Nowra is becoming more of a shopping destination,” she said.
“While in recent years tourists might have driven past, or stopped in for groceries and petrol, now they’re calling in for coffee and a look around.”
Comfort Shoes manager Stephanie Barrett said while it was typical for retail to endure peaks and troughs in trade, she was pleasantly surprised by the number of people around the CBD on Christmas Eve.
“Normally on Christmas Eve, once lunch is done it’s all over, but this Christmas there were still people around at 4pm,” she said.
Darren Marshall from Go Vita said his December trade was “unreal”.
“I don’t know what to put it down to, maybe people have more confidence to spend after receiving the government’s money,” he said.
“It’s the best December in history.”
Jeff Stephenson from Sportspower in Nowra thought the lucrative December could be put down to the Shoalhaven being on Sydney residents’ radar.
“It’s surprisingly good at the moment. There is an air of confidence in retailers
in the town.
“I am cautiously optimistic about the next six months, but I think retailers will have
to keep their noses to the grindstone,”
Mr Stephenson said.
Kerry Randell from Sahara in Kinghorne Street said she posted a record week in the days leading up to Christmas.
“Prior to that it was a bit slow and while it has been spasmodic I think there are more people about because they’ve decided to holiday in Australia rather than travel overseas,” she said.
Berry has also felt the pleasant affects of people enjoying a bit of retail therapy.
Haven and Space owner Harvey Slatyer said last year’s Christmas period was extremely good and this year was the same.
“It’s hard to tell if it’s the extra $1000 payment that has done it, but it’s been very busy,” he said.
The newsagent in Berry has also experienced a surge on the previous year’s
trading.
Barney Gillard said Christmas Eve was up 20 per cent.
“There appears to be a lot of people around, we might get two goes at it this year, one lot leave and the next lot of visitors arrive,” he said.
The spending isn’t isolated to the Shoalhaven, with newspapers in the Eurobodalla reporting record busy days on the back of high visitation numbers that had seen many towns booked out.
Woolworths in Narooma reportedly had its busiest day ever last Monday with shoppers waiting in long lines in the check-out.