Christmas shopping starting early, say Mullingar traders

It’s not yet Halloween but Mullingar traders are reporting one of the earliest starts to the Christmas shopping season in years.

It began as early as August according to the toy experts at Fagan Toymaster on Pearse Street, but right across Mullingar, shops say the combination of changing government guidelines, and the possibility of another lockdown has meant people are planning early for Christmas.

“There was a bit of panic buying – which there was no need for because there’s loads of stock,” said John Fagan. “People actually started in August, which is ‘back to school’ time for us and we were amazed at how many toys we were selling.

“I think a lot of people were off work due to Covid and trying to keep busy, so they started the Christmas shopping early – that’s what I think happened.

“To be honest it’s a bit early to be running out of stock at this stage, that usually only happens towards the end of November when the toy ads start appearing on television… some things do sell out quicker than others, but in general we’re able to replenish the stock so there’s no need for people to panic,” said John.

Fears that the country will go into Level 5 lockdown again should not worry consumers either, as John said Fagan Toymaster will be operating a ‘back door’ service.

“For Christmas we’ll have a full team of people working behind the scenes. People can ring us, pay over the phone and collect from the back door. We’ll continue to look after our customers like we did in the last lockdown.”

On Dominic Street, Tomás Nally at Rochforts Superstore is also reporting a far earlier uptake on the gifting season, and keyboards, guitars, tractors, and jigsaws are among the big sellers there.

“Usually it’s anytime from Halloween onwards that the Christmas shopping begins, and that’s when we’d get a lot of our main stock in,” said Tomás. “Luckily, because of Brexit, the Irish suppliers had planned ahead and bought in extra stock, and that’s certainly helping us now because people are already buying for Christmas.”

Tomás is encouraging everyone to shop local this year.

“If there’s one thing I would advise people to do – if they see something cheaper online – it’s to go into their local shop and ask if they can make up the difference price-wise, because generally it’s not the manufacturer that sets the price, it’s the retailer.

“I know that nine times out of 10, the local retailer will go the extra mile and do all they can to make a sale because it means so much to them.

“In Germany or the UK, which is where a lot of the online stock is coming from, they don’t care about the people in Ireland.

“The more money spent locally, the more it helps keep local businesses going, it helps save jobs and it boosts the local economy of the town in general.”

At Eason on Pearse Street there’s been a surge in the sales of books, stationery and art supplies.

“It started getting really busy about two weeks ago when lockdown was enforced in other counties. This definitely isn’t the norm, this would never usually happen before Halloween,” said manager Therese O’Malley.

“We’re finding people are actually coming in for the one-on-one service which they can’t get online,” she adds. “People aren’t getting out and about as much so they’re coming in for the interaction with others.”

Therese further explains that the return to shopping locally happened before Covid-19 hit.

“We saw last year that people did a complete 180 and returned to shopping locally. Parking in Dublin is much too expensive now, so it’s quite affordable for people to shop local.”

Therese also points out that because Eason supplies newspapers, it is classed as an essential service, so there’s no fear of closure due to lockdown. And if the rules change, they will move online.

Meanwhile, another businessman says some people have other concerns too. “Covid is on people’s minds all the time. Some people are apprehensive, in some cases shopping isn’t on their minds at all, but for others with small children, they are getting organised alright but there’s still plenty of time.

“I haven’t seen any panic yet, but some people are anxious, particularly the last few days with the government guidelines.

“There are some problems in supply but only in some instances.

“At the moment it’s difficult conditions to be trading in but we’ve to respect all the guidelines, and we’ll have to wait for the guidelines from the government to see what the next few weeks will bring.”