SHOPPERS have been hitting the shops to take advantage of the bargains on offer.
It comes after shops across the island have reported that it’s tough-going in the current economic climate.
Peter Luis, in Duke Street, Douglas, started its sale on Thursday.
One of the directors, Diane Edington, told iomtoday on Friday: ‘The sale is going very well.
‘We started yesterday and had a good first day. It is unheard of to have the second day better, but today was even better.’
She said Douglas was busier last week than it had been ‘for a long time’.But she said that Christmas shoppers had left it very late this year, meaning the store having a good fortnight prior to December 25.
Wallis, also in Duke Street, was ahead of most Douglas retailers by starting its sale before Christmas.
A store spokesman said she thought the number of shoppers in town in the sales was on a par with last year, which she said was a positive sign, considering the island’s financial position.
And, in fact, she said she had been ‘surprised’ by the number of shoppers in the capital, saying: ‘I was thinking where is all the money coming from, they would have spent it over Christmas, but people are still spending.’
John Shakespeare, of The Strand Shopping Centre, in Douglas, said there had been big queues outside HMV, which started its sale last Monday.
He said footfall had been ‘slightly weather dependent’: ‘When it’s okay outside, the crowds are out.’
And he said that with many people off work until Wednesday, there was time for shoppers to make the most of the sales.
Chris Blatcher, sales and merchandise director at Ramsey Warehouse, said that he was satisfied with how the store’s sale was going, adding: ‘Everyone’s quite happy with being level at the moment’.
‘Times are tough,’ he said. ‘It’s very hard to get sales and it’s very promotion-led.’
Mr Blatcher, who is also chairman of Ramsey Chamber of Commerce, added: ‘It’s certainly not easy. We have got to bear with it for a couple of years before we will see it recover and hopefully we will get the benefit from it then.’
He said that shoppers had started very late in Ramsey, partly due to the weather.
B&B Furniture, in Snugborough Trading Estate, Union Mills, started its winter sale on Boxing Day and is also holding an online only ‘red bow sale’.
A company spokesman described their sale as going ‘really well’.