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Christmas Day may be 11 weeks away, but retailers advise the public to start their holiday shopping now.
Dublin Town, which represents 2,500 businesses in the capital, says that to avoid the queues and avoid the December rush, now is a good time to start ticking off the Christmas list.
Retailers say that with 76 shopping days to go, people are already beginning to focus on the holiday period.
Dublin Town CEO Richard Guiney said normal passage in Dublin city center in the run-up to the Christmas period will not be feasible due to social distancing requirements.
Mr Guiney also asked consumers shopping online this holiday season to shop at Irish retailers, saying this would be a “watershed” Christmas for many.
He said what happens in the coming weeks could help shape the future of Dublin city center.
“People who work in retail really need your support and this could be the difference between having a vibrant pandemic downtown or not.”
In relation to a 28-day return policy that many stores have, Guiney said that most retailers will work with customers around that under current circumstances.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, he said retailers should communicate their returns policy to all their customers, but, he said, most businesses would be happy to have the government scrutinize the legislation during the pandemic.
Guiney said there is scope to work on return policies, but instilling confidence in customers is the key, and he said reasonable retailers will work with all parties on that.
Maurice Doyle, CEO of Banba Toymaster, said they had seen an increase in holiday shopping since Monday, but said they had enough stock to meet demand.
He said earlier purchases would help people avoid crowds and inclement weather.
“We want to encourage people to space out Christmas for three months instead of packing it up in the last three weeks. It will make it easier for everyone.”
Mark Limby, director of stores for Brown Thomas and Arnotts, said they would extend their refund period to facilitate advance purchases and said they wanted to encourage people to shop online early as well to ensure timely delivery.
Chris Andrews, operations manager for Weir and Sons jewelers on Grafton Street, said people had become more efficient shoppers of late, with many doing their research online before visiting the store.
He said the next few weeks are among the most important for retailers, with many of them doing most of their business in the run-up to Christmas.
Retail Excellence also said that 70% of retail profits are made in the run-up to the holiday period and so they are asking the government to make all retail sales essential this time of year.
This would allow all types of retailers to keep their doors open if Level 4 or Level 5 restrictions were introduced in the coming weeks.
In Dublin city center today, several shoppers who spoke to RTÉ News were already embracing pre-Halloween prep for Christmas.
Some said they wanted to avoid crowds, while others wanted to make sure they could buy gifts in case higher levels of restrictions were introduced.
One shopper admitted that she started early because she had to use her imagination more this year, mainly because she could no longer buy gift vouchers for her grandmother, who is in a cocoon and can no longer shop for herself.
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