WITH less than a week to go before Christmas, vendors in downtown Kingston are concerned about the slow pace of business in the normally bustling shopping hub.
“Things are going really slow in terms of sales,” one vendor, Mervin Dickson, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
He, like his colleagues, believe the slow business was a reflection of the prevailing economic hardships and dwindling disposable income.
“It has reached a stage where people are hardly coming out to buy anything,” said Dickson, who operates a fruit stall outside the famous Coronation Market.
His comments were echoed by another vendor, Janet Findley.
“Based on how things look, we (vendors) are really worried. The people dem nuh have nuh money to spend; is more sellers than buyers wi seeing,” she stressed.
Their colleague Fitzroy Shaw, however, was more hopeful.
“Things are bad, but right now I am just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that things will improve in coming days,” Shaw told the Observer.
Antoinette Brown, who operates a shop on Princess Street, was equally hopeful.
“I know Christmas is just around the corner, but I am just hoping that the holiday spirit will encourage some shoppers to come out and spend,” she said.
— Alicia Barrett
Gyal dem a tek dem money buy clothes n shoes n naah feed dem baddi. Shame pon dem young gyal ya
WTF? Leave young women out of this! Ridiculous comment
No sales because everybady a bawl sey it ruff out dey.
You know mi see wid mi own 2 eye how ppl rather go in a supermarket or chinese whole sale go shop and buy simple things like fresh peas and calaloo when the market was just a stone throws away and a whole lot cheaper. Mi also see more and more people buying prepackaged foods in those supermarkets and less and less fresh produce. When I was a child the highlight of my weekend was to go to the market.
Me too
You may be unto something there.
I used to like going to the market as a child with my mother, but I did not enjoy it in my teen years. I still do not like entering the market to be honest. It’s just smelly and dirty, and the roaming hogs don’t help situation. I fully agree that ppl should be purchasing their fresh produce from these vendors and supporting their local farmers, but the market experience needs to improve for me to enter one.
Which market was this?
Charles Gordon in Mobay.
Fa real!!!…every saturday morning..
Christmas barrel dem come dung, them a get the foreign goods and clothes. No need to go market and the poor people whey no have people abroad cyaan afford the shopping.