Retailers expect ‘merry’ holiday shopping this year

WITH inflation further easing, it seems consumers are seeing a merry holiday this year.

Cebuano supermarket chain owner Robert Go is projecting holiday sales will be better this year compared to last year when Filipinos were rattled by an inflation crisis.

“In the upcoming holiday, we expect better sales,” the Philippine Retailers Assocation-Cebu spokesman told SunStar Cebu in an interview.

Go expects holiday sales to peak in late November through December when most workers receive their bonuses and 13th month pay.

High spending from business process management employees as well as tourists are also expected to push up holiday demand, the retailer said.

“We will have a better Christmas this year,” said Go, who owns a supermarket chain Prince Retail.

The strong sales expected during the Christmas season is mainly driven by the tradition of Filipinos to naturally spend and celebrate for the biggest holiday of the year.

Strong holiday-related spending is seen to pick up in the weeks to come as consumers splurge on Christmas sales.

In particular, Go is projecting demand for “noche buena” goods will eventually increase leading to the Christmas rush period.

In September, the consumer price index further cooled to 0.9 percent in its slowest in over three years and the second straight month it fell below the government’s two to four percent target range.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier said that while inflation could “firmly settle” within the target range, volatile crude oil price due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the US-China trade war might generate upward price pressures in the near term. (CSL)

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