Brunei shops lack ‘oomph’ factor in attracting customers

Afelda Ghani Dec 23rd, 2009 .

AS PEOPLE opt to spend their dollars shopping across borders and overseas during the long holidays of Hijrah, Christmas and New Year, some of the local shops are experiencing a drop in businesses.

In an interview with the Bulletin, KoFom Textile employees claimed that the number of customers have decreased due to the long holiday this month.

“We had more customers buying varieties of goods last December but this year, most of the purchased items were school uniforms”, said Moji, a KoFom staff.

Some shops stated that the decrease in number of customers during the holiday season, especially at the end of the year, is a regular occurrence for them.

“We usually don’t have a lot of people walking into our shop in December. Other branches are also experiencing the same situation. But we do have a lot of customers buying school shoes for the new term but not casual wear items.

“Even with the 50 per cent year-end sale which we are having now, people still tend to shop in places like Malaysia because of the price and quality”, commented Rita, a staff of Tan Kok Tong.

While some shops are badly affected by the long holidays, other shops continue to receive a consistent number of customers.

Amirah of DeeJay Home Video spoke about how they have more foreign customers during the holiday season.
“The long weekends have not been affecting us. In fact, people from outside the country have been making frequent visits to our store to purchase cheap DVDs and mobile phones”, said Amirah.

Mac of RockPaperScissors also claimed that the number of customers is constant despite the long holidays.
Another interview with a local shopper at The Mall, Gadong, explained a local’s point of view about the price of goods in the country.

“I have just returned from a holiday overseas and observed that a lot of Bruneians seem to prefer shopping outside Brunei, especially in Malaysia, because it is cheaper and we are able to spend more.

“The local shops need to compete especially with countries such as Malaysia, because Bruneians tend to be compulsive shoppers and we are also bargain hunters. Distance is not a barrier and that is why some Bruneians would still rather go overseas to shop”, commented 35year-old Leo.

Lily, 27, who said she prefers to shop overseas for the choices, price and quality, mentioned “there aren’t many people who shop in Brunei at this time because Bruneians usually wait a few days before the new school term starts”.

“But in general, Brunei shops still lack the “oomph” factor that shops in other countries have”, exclaimed Lily.