By Tessa Wong & Jessica Lim

'TIS the season to be jolly for shoppers.

Stores, from the ritzy boutiques of Orchard to the mom-and-pop shops of the heartland, are offering their biggest pre-Christmas sales in years in an effort to attract recession-weary customers.

Dr Jannie Tay of the Singapore Retailers Association said earlier this week that the number of pre-Christmas promotions has increased by 50 per cent this year. Many stores also started their sales up to a month earlier than usual in an attempt to spur spending.

The deals are music to the ears of shoppers, who have been battered by an economic downturn that has seen wages cut and jobs made redundant.

'I was really scared that Christmas would burn a huge hole in my pocket. I'm glad I managed to avoid that,' said Madam Lim Sok Chin, a 54-year-old housewife, who completed all her shopping last week.

While pre-Christmas slash fests are traditionally the mainstay of larger chains and department stores, smaller businesses are getting in on the action too, many for the first time.

A Straits Times check with 15 heartland outfits - ranging from shoe shops to second-hand mobile phone booths - found that all were cutting prices. For nine of them, the sales were a first.

At footwear store Rochelle, which has two outlets in Yishun and Pasir Ris, shoes have been up to 50 per cent cheaper since late September. Owner Jeffrey Kam said the first-time discounts helped boost sales by about 60 per cent.

Still, the 44-year-old said he is just breaking even.

'Business has been bad just like the economy, so we have all this extra stock to get rid of fast. There is no point hoarding. Shoes go out of fashion and suppliers must be paid,' said Mr Kam.

The slow business has forced one second-hand mobile phone shop in Ang Mo Kio, Genuine Mobile, to offer bigger discounts than last year's. With business down 40 per cent over the past three months, it has cut prices by up to 15 per cent this festive period, compared to 5 per cent last year.

'We hope to sell as many sets as we can so that we can minimise losses,' said owner Patrick Wong, who has three other stores under his umbrella.

Some retailers, spooked by a slow decline in sales that followed the start of the financial meltdown in September, are trying to make hay while the sun shines.

'We just want to be sure we can bring in the money this year, while we still can,' said Mr Tan Yew Jin, business development manager of Alpha Sky, which runs the local franchise of French shoe brand Schu. For the first time, Schu's two outlets at Suntec City and Wisma Atria are offering a pre-Christmas 50 per cent discount on some items.

With shops everywhere displaying discount posters, there is pressure on competitors to slash prices as well.

'This year, it seems everyone's got discounts. If everyone's doing it, we also want to do it to incentivise consumers who are being more cautious in spending,' said Mrs Esther Tang-Loo, executive director of Focus Network, which owns chocolate chain The Cocoa Trees.

The urgency has spread beyond shops.

Citibank and United Overseas Bank are offering credit card promotions with up to 50 per cent more retail merchants this year, and CapitaLand malls are offering $30,000 worth of gifts in lucky draws, up from $24,000 last year.

But retail experts cautioned against slashing prices too much and too often.

'Once you get into the emotional side of the sale syndrome, it's hard to keep your cool,' said Mr Wong Kai Hong, chief executive of business management and consultancy TR21.

'Retailers need not put their whole shop on sale,' he said, adding that they may risk running up unsustainable losses if they are not careful.

Still, shoppers are welcoming what is a rare bit of good news on the economic front.

Housewife Low Kwai Fong, 53, estimated she shaved 20 per cent off her $200 Christmas budget by buying discounted goods at department stores John Little and OG.

'I've been noticing more sales before Christmas this time round. But I hope the post-Christmas ones are even better - I want to buy my clothes and shoes for Chinese New Year then,' she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 24, 2008.

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