Sat, May 10, 2008 page12

• Pre-Mother's Day sales show little change

  SOMETHING DIFFERENT Energy-saving products, such as air circulation fans, have been selling well at one department store, as environmental awareness grows

  • By Jerry Lin / STAFF REPORTER
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  The nation's department store chains said sales in the run up to this year's Mother's Day have not seen much improvement from a year ago, as a result of consumers' cautious shopping behavior and a lack of consumer confidence.

  Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store (新光三越百貨), the nation’s largest department store chain, said sales during the period up to Mother’s Day this year, starting from April 10 until tomorrow, had risen by 6 percent from the same period a year ago, on the back of a sales promotion.

  “Although consumers’ cautious shopping behavior has become more and more obvious, consumers are still willing to spend money on things that they consider necessary and worthwhile,” Shauna Lee (李香萩), deputy manager of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s sales promotion department, said by telephone yesterday.

  Cosmetic products, which account for nearly 20 percent to 30 percent of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Mother’s Day’s sales, have been the department store’s best-sellers as consumers get a NT$200 discount for every NT$2,000 they spend, Lee said.

  popular

  In addition to cosmetic products, gold jewelry and health appliances, such as sleep-easy pillows and electric massage devices have continued to remain popular Mother’s Day gifts this year.

  Unlike in past years, new consumer electronics products such as Apple Inc’s iPods and digital cameras have stood out as popular Mother’s Day gifts this year, Lee said.

  Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨), the nation’s second largest department store chain, said sales at its three stores in Taipei during the period preceding Mother’s Day this year, remain unchanged from last year, as a result of a lack of consumer confidence.

  conservative

  “Consumers have become increasingly conservative and cautious in shopping amid rising commodity prices, and would especially choose to shop during the promotional period [to save money],” Janet Tsao (曹春輝), associate manager of Pacific Sogo’s sales and promotion department, said yesterday.

  Aside from traditional Mother’s Day best-sellers, energy-saving products, such as air circulation fans have sold well at Pacific Sogo during the Mother’s Day period this year, because of a growing awareness of the importance of saving energy, Tsao said.
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