Christmas is not so happy for shoppers

Retail stores begin decorating with garland and holly early in November to remind customers of  the coming holiday season.

Christmas is supposed to bring out the best in people, but Doreen Rodriguez thinks the opposite. She’s a  customer service manager at Wal-Mart,  and feels that customers are not in the best of spirits.

People looking at gifts

“I feel that customers are more hostile over the holidays. They are under a lot of pressure to get that special gift they want to buy.”

Getting down to those last days before Christmas seem to be the worst, explains Rodriguez.

“The holidays impact the buyer’s attitude as we get closer to the last week. They have less patience, and they are not as friendly.”

Rodriguez is a mother of seven children. Their ages range from eight to 22 years old. She knows exactly how tiring and stressful the Christmas season can be. Now with new store hours and timed specials the stores are full of Christmas shoppers.

“It’s very tiring, this is the time of year where most of the profit is made by the store,” she said. ” There is more stress than usual as the store tries to attain their goal. As an employee you are reminded of how important the bottom line is.”

The business goal for many retail stores is to entice customers by displaying as much merchandise as physically possible, turn that inventory quickly, and maximize profits.

Dale MacMullin, a Sears associate, blames Macy’s and Coca-Cola for the evolution of a commercial Christmas.

“In my home Christmas is not about the gifts, it’s about family, friends, food, good tidings, and joy!” he said with a chuckle. “My wife and I don’t even buy each other that many presents. The only things we get for each other are things we need.”

He  agrees with Rodriguez that customers are not pleasant during the holidays.

“They are always grumpy. The pressure of buying things on sometimes limited funds stresses them out. In my experience they are grumpy.”

Also, “how” people purchase gifts can present a whole new set of stresses in the new year. Retailers offer financial solutions that allow customers to get the item now, and they in turn get their profits immediately. Deferred payment options dominate the retail world.  These plans can bury families in debt for years.

In December 2004, Statistics Canada concluded that each person in Canada spent $804 during the Christmas season. This is over the normal $555 spent monthly.

Sears Christmas shop

Citizens of Alberta and the Yukon spent over the average amount. Alberta was at $967 per person, and the Yukon was at $926 per person. In total Canadian shoppers spent $34.5 billion in retail stores in 2004.

These amounts were even higher over the Christmas season in 2003. Canadian shoppers spent $59.5 billion in November and December.  The economy was good, 1.62 million people worked in retail in 2003. That is 38,000 more people hired in retail than in 2002.

With stores being open for 15 to 16 hours during those days you can guarantee customers and employees will be working and shopping on their last nerves.

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Posted by Alaina Nugent on Nov 27, 2009. Filed under Features, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.