Which is a better gift, something expensive or something you put thought into? Shops are expecting a big spend, writes Kate Holmquist
Rising interest rates, credit card bills to beat the band and many SSIAs already spent. A holiday to book in the New Year and maybe a car to trade in - not to mention school fees. No wonder people are asking whether Christmas 2006 will be the last blow-out before the newly-minted Irish populace sees sense, cuts up the credit cards and eats beans on toast.
I don't think so. Arnott's says it is expecting a "record Christmas", with sales already at least 12 per cent up on last year, Brown Thomas reports that luxury goods are selling better than ever and Paul Sheerin, the jeweller, says that this year it's "diamonds, diamonds, diamonds". By late November, his sales were 29 per cent higher than the previous year.
Boodles jewellers, which opened its first shop outside the UK on Grafton Street six months ago, has already made two €150,000 individual sales and lots of smaller ones (average price €7,500), vindicating its advance research that Dublin would be a more profitable location than Glasgow or New York.
The Irish will be the biggest spenders in Europe this Christmas and will even outspend the average North American, according to research by Deloitte. Irish households will budget an average of €1,399 - a 10 per cent increase on last year - on popular Christmas gifts such as iPod Nanos, women's clothing and accessories, DVDs, CDs, books, clothes, gift vouchers, jewellery, travel, flat-screen TVs and mobile phones. And who said Christmas was for children?
THERE IS A quiet confidence that interest rates won't rise more than another half per cent and won't return to the crippling levels of the past, while employment is up, the anticipated oil crisis never materialised and people are feeling positive overall, says Gina Quin, chief executive, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Christmas started later this year, due to the unseasonably warm weather, but there will still be an estimated €4 billion spent, much of it in Dublin city centre, partly thanks to the completion of the Luas works and a redesigned O'Connell Street that's looking tasteful this year, with its elegant blue and white lighting.
"From Dublin Chamber's point of view, the long-term outlook for the Dublin economy is very positive," Quin says. More Irish people are nipping off to New York to shop this year than ever before, which has made Dublin retailers determined to keep their prices competitive, she adds.
"Retailers have to provide value for money to make sure people want to come into the city to shop, and that's a good thing from the consumer point of view," she says.
Many fashionable women wear European designer brands that are cheaper here than in New York, says Stephen Sealey, women's wear buying director at Brown Thomas. He says that the new Christmas trend is "self-gifting".
"People are saying, 'I work so damned hard that if I want that handbag, I'll reward myself and buy it'. I get the sense that people are not overly concerned about the future. People think that another quarter per cent rise in interest rates is nothing to worry about. There's no element of this being the last blow-out Christmas."
Sealey thinks that shoppers are cannier now, investing in quality clothing and accessories that last more than one season.
"In the past, someone would push the boat out to buy that expensive coat. Then they realised that great design and great fabric lasts for years. They got a lot of wear out of the coat, so now, when they buy a coat, they buy an expensive one because they know from experience that they'll wear it for years."
He thinks that the maturing of consumers from fashion thrill-seeking to luxury collecting has set the tone for "sustainable growth". It's a point reinforced by fashion magazines that recommend investment clothing worn with throw-away items that cost relatively little from trend-spotting retailers such as Penneys and Top Shop.
And with that €5 top, why not wear a €5,000 pair of earrings? Two out of three women want jewellery for Christmas, according to the Deloitte survey, but increasingly they purchase it and put it under the tree for themselves.
Paul Sheerin says that more women are coming into the shop and purchasing diamond rings, bracelet, necklaces and earrings, rather than expecting the men in their lives to choose them. "In some cases, they send the man the bill," he says.
Sexy spending is key to Boodles, a brand so provocative that it uses its name as a verb in its advertising, as in "Boodle me, I'm yours" and "I want to be Boodled by you."
Manager Jody Wainwright, who moved his wife and young family to Dublin to open a branch of the family business in Grafton Street, says that Irish consumers are beginning to appreciate the fun and pleasure that can be had from jewellery.
The shop doesn't display its glittering stock for browsers, preferring to offer customers free champagne and exotic cocktails in its private bar. After this get-to-know-you session (after years in the business Wainwright can sense who wants to spend how much), the tempting trays of baubles are produced. Wainwright's impression of Irish jewellery shoppers? "It's not making a dent in their financial statements. They enjoy it."
Being comfortable with having the cash to buy designer gems is a trend that's happening at the same time as "nesting", with a growing focus on the home.
Claire Hanley is an event manager who knows how the rich live because she helps them throw their parties and cosy dinners for 12.
She says: "Millennium fever is over and so is the ostentatious Christmas party scene. It's not hugely happening this year and it's definitely less than last year. The corporates are going out of town for their Christmas parties - to London, New York and even farther afield. As for home entertaining, people are more comfortable now with traditional dinners with a few friends.
"At the very, very top end, they want to eat sherry trifle and Bird's custard - not crème Anglaise. The need to impress is not as great - I'd say the pressure is off. People are spending more on their own lifestyles and home life, rather than big Christmas parties, although they are still spending on big parties during the year - for 40ths and 50ths, mostly."
Services catering to people who have far more money than time is another major consumer trend. Neil McFadden, an accomplished chef who has worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe, has for several years grown a business, ChristmasMadEasy, for busy working couples who haven't the time to struggle through traffic and crowded malls in order to buy food in the days before Christmas.
Caroline Kennedy, who has a PR company, will be using a McFadden hamper this year so that she can enjoy time with her 16 guests, rather than with her cooker. "Time is the greatest luxury now," she says.
AS THE Deloitte survey found, only 5 per cent of people enjoy Christmas shopping and would far rather have someone do it for them. In steps Quintessentially, a new concierge service that will happily do the Christmas shopping and anything else for 365 days a year for an annual fee, which seems great value for anyone who needs a PA but cannot afford the salary.
Louise O'Riordan of Quintessentially says that time-poor, money-rich consumers find that having someone to do the footwork actually saves them money in the long run, while giving them more time to spend with their families.
Marietta Doran, a personal shopper, specialises in taking women clothes-buying in efficient three- or four-hour sessions so that they don't have to waste weekends browsing through shops when they'd rather be with their children.
Time is so precious that people most appreciate gifts that have taken time to make or purchase, Doran thinks. She says: "The amount of money spent on a gift is irrelevant now. My luxury gift has thought put into the purchase. It doesn't matter what it costs as long as the giver has spent time considering what someone would really like."
So if your budget is more Scrooge than Santa this year, you may be ahead of the trends.
