Camana Bay's retailers are busy preparing for the holiday season and are banking on Christmas shopping to help them end the year on a high note.
“Hugely [important]. This is our season; this is what we work all year towards,” said Blackbeard’s wine specialist Charlie Nicholson. “This is when we have all of our amazing products on promotion. It’s a better deal for the customer. We bring out new products. This is our key time of the year.”
Holiday spending in the U.S. alone reached USD $886.7 billion in 2021, according to CNBC. That’s an increase of more than 8% compared to 2020, according to Deloitte, and the average American is expected to spend roughly $1,000 on holiday gifts in 2022, according to Ramsey Solutions.
“Christmas is an important time for the retailers,” said Julia Bradford, marketing manager for Polyn, a card and app-based loyalty programme.
Loyalty programmes were a big draw for consumers in 2021 with 81% of all consumers in the U.S. shopping specific brands because of programme membership, according to Clarus Commerce.
While not a retailer, Polyn serves as a support mechanism by driving business to local retailers while providing customers with special discounts, offers and points that can go toward purchases. Several Camana Bay-based stores participate in the Polyn programme, including Blackbeard’s, Camana Bay Cinema, De Sunglass Man, Island Jewellers, Next Chapter, Pandora and West Indies Wine Company.
“The particular time of year isn’t necessarily what’s important,” Bradford said. “For us, it’s what’s important to our shoppers and retailers, which is the Christmas period because people want to be buying Christmas presents. So it gives us an opportunity to remind people of Polyn and remind people of what we do.”
Many retailers plan to ramp up holiday promotions this year given that Cayman is entering its first post-pandemic high season free of any travel restrictions and the increase of visitors on island is evident.
At Blackbeard’s, that included several Black Friday promotions on items like games, accessories, wines and spirits and continues with specials throughout December as we approach Christmas.
“We have more promotions than we have had in the past because we want to reach out to our customers and thank them,” Nicholson said.
Polyn will be offering promotions like points giveaways and double points on certain purchased items.
“It's an opportunity for us to raise awareness; that’s our benefit for Christmas,” Bradford said. “Because people are shopping more anyway…we’re there to support the retailers and the shoppers.”
This article will also appear in the December/January print edition of Camana Bay Times.