TYNWALD Mills in St John’s has seen record post-Christmas sales.
More than 150 people were queuing to buy bargains when its doors opened for the sales last Tuesday (December 27).
Tynwald Mills manager Steve Bradley said: ‘While the trading year in total has been tough. The Christmas sales were very strong and we have had record sales going into the January.
‘The first two days of trading were better than before. There were a lot more people waiting outside for the doors to open. The sales have been very positive and we are really pleased.’
Mr Bradley said post-Christmas sales had gone up 15 per cent on last year.
Meanwhile, Strand Shopping Centre manager John Shakespeare said the post-Christmas sales had got off to a good start at the centre with big queues outside for when the doors opened at 11am on Tuesday and with Boxing Day figures broadly on a par with last year’s.
He said the run-up to Christmas had seen plenty of shoppers about in the town centre, but they were being more cautious with their money.
‘Footfall was up but people were spending less,’ he said.
‘The queues at the checkouts were the same but, for example, instead of buying four DVDs they were buying two.’
High-value items like i-Pods had sold well and shops such as HMV, Jessops, Card Factory and the Douglas MEA had all seen healthy trading.
‘Overall numbers are good, but people are not spending as much. Instead they are looking for the bargains,’ Mr Shakespeare said.
‘Twenty-twelve is going to be an interesting trading year.’
Over Christmas the Strand Shopping Centre marked the visit of its two millionth customer of the year – the centre’s new thermal imaging cameras allowing the total to be accurately counted this year. The accolade went to Manx resident Jo Hamilton, who was presented with a bottle of champagne, some flowers and a gift voucher for £100, which she spent at the MEA on a new microwave oven.
Over the past week the centre has seen 81,000 shoppers pass through its doors – the equivalent of most of the population of the island.
Internet shopping was having an inevitable impact on trade, but Mr Shakespeare added: ‘We are sociable people, so we still like to meet up in the high street.’
Aside from sales, the shoppping centre has been a venue for numerous events and displays in the main foyer area and is booked up until April.
Mr Shakespeare added that he thought the island was suffering mainly from external pressures from the UK, which in turn was a victim of the overall European economic situation.