MOTHER'S Day is usually a time where families spare no expense to celebrate the women in their lives, but on the Friday before Mother's Day, many shoppers on the streets of Port of Spain told a different story.
Despite stores being plastered with signs of discounts and loud speakers advertising deals, many customers lamented the availability of quality deals and quality items.
A lady at Excellence City Center said, “What I would like to get, I am not seeing it around. I know what I want because I know the people I am shopping for but things are limited. There isn’t a wide range to choose from. When you look at certain things, the cost compared to the product is not worth it.”
Over on Henry Street, a lady who only gave her name as Stacy agreed that the quality of items did not match the prices they were being sold for.
"I am not really shopping because things are expensive. I was looking to purchase a pair of sandals for my mum but $200 for a pair of cheap sandals is ridiculous. The way things are going, I am looking to do things for myself; I might just bake a cake.”
Kay on Charlotte Street said he too was going to make his mother a homemade treat.
He said, “Things are a bit expensive, and the deals and specials you used to get, you are hardly seeing them. Now, you have to go for things like a weekend stay in Hilton or Hyatt and currently, if you try to book those, they are booked out. So people have to do things at home, like prepare a meal and buy some roses and wine for their mum. I will be having a luncheon because I wanted to take my mum on a weekend getaway but all hotels were booked out.”
Despite the bleak sentiments expressed by other shoppers, Sheryll Debique thought otherwise.
She said, “My shopping has been exciting so far. Mode Alive has a sale along with giveaway vouchers, so my day has been going great thanks to them. I am shopping for myself and my grandmother.”
Some store owners complained of slow sales.
Jabari, owner of a store at Bradford City Mall, said, “I have seen better over the years, no doubt. So far, people have been walking and more or less window shopping. I don’t know if it is because people are waiting on the specific day but for now it has been like an average day.”
A store owner at Aboutique Mall said, “If you look around, you will see that sales are not going great even with our Mother's Day deals. There is no one in the mall. Sales have been bad for the last 6 to 9 months. If you really think about it, there is no Mother's Day, no Father's Day and no Valentine's Day in Port of Spain with sales. You might just see major Christmas sales. I have been in this mall since 2010, and there has been a steady deterioration in sales.
He said, though he does not want to give up on Port of Spain, he is currently considering moving to other places where it is safer for shoppers in hopes of improving his sales.
On the other hand, Afiya McNicol, an employee at Bling Down Apparel Plus at Excellence City Center, said sales were going quite well for them.
“Things have be
