BY ADAM STRISIVER

Sophie Wight looks forward to Christmas.

And not just for the presents.

“I enjoy seeing the new decorations every year. It’s exciting to see the new ideas that the malls come up with,’ she said.

Cheryl Patel echoes the view.

“Even as an adult, I still enjoy seeing all the Christmas decorations. They really bring out the Christmas spirit,’ she said.

Shoppers agree that the more effort a shopping centre puts into its decor, the more appealing it is to shop there.

Mall competition is fierce this year.

Christmas trees that stand 56 feet, cotton snow that doesn’t nip the nose and even reindeer replicas can now be found in the malls of T&T.

At a time when shops and street vendors are offering bargains, why would malls consider investing money in decorations that last less than two months?

Given the number of stores in any mall, a collective marketing strategy is not only cost effective, but also presents a uniform, aesthetic style.

Malls spend thousands on decorations which account for the bulk of its annual events budget.

There are more malls to compete for consumers’ attention and pockets.

Strategic, of course: Gulf City in the South, Trincity in the East and The Falls at West Mall in the West.

Each year the presentations are more elaborate in an attempt to lure Christmas shoppers.

And then there are Santa’s frequent trips from the North Pole to meet the children.

And the parang groups which sing the evening away.

Others are simply provocative.

Take West Mall, for instance. This year scarlet ibis and bamboo shoots and poinsettia Christmas tree offer a Caribbean feel to the season; a different look to last year’s toy soldiers.

For most retailers, Christmas is undoubtedly the busiest, most lucrative time. And spending more to “dress up” is a standard tactic to get customers into the shops to part with those year-end bonuses.

Who thinks about inflation when Hanna Montana dolls and iPods beckon?

Decorating is costly

Masmaker Brian Mac Farlane, who has decorated numerous malls—West Mall, Trincity and Gulf City in La Romaine and Lowlands in Tobago, to name a few—noted that 20 years ago, a mall could fix its decorating budget at under $100,000.

Fastforward to 2007.

That figure doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of already scarce labour.

The price is several times that.

Mac Farlane did not discuss what he charged malls for his service or the cost of decorations, but another source was able to confirm that some malls can spend close to a million dollars.

Despite the fact that materials are now easier to source (did someone say China?), they are more expensive.

Labour is scarce in nearly every facet of T&T industry. Designers are having to outsource work to contractors.

Finding a designer can also be tricky.

Many are booked a year in advance.

Timing is key

While there is a growing trend from shopping centres to start marketing its Christmas fare earlier every year, there is a limit as to how early they can start.

This year, the general election cut close to Divali and Eid and Carnival 2008 is almost upon us. The window of opportunity is a little over one month.

Decorating too early results in the decor’s initial impact fizzling by the time the shopping frenzy begins. However, if the decorations are up too late, it can mean losing customers to the competition.

This year most decorations went up around the first week of November.

Mac Farlane pointed out that Christmas is sandwiched between celebrations and as large cross-sections of shoppers are Hindus or Muslims, they need to ensure the Christmas festival does not overshadow those religious events.

One of the goals of the Christmas decor is to ensure that customers forget about the upcoming Carnival season and focus on Christmas shopping.

“Each mall,” said Mac Farlane, who’s been dressing malls since 1984 , “takes about two months to prepare and one-and-a-half weeks to put in place.”

The work is mostly done at nights with minimal interruption to daily trade.

Trends evolve

The recent trend in designs has been to move away from themed Christmas styles towards the more contemporary.

Mac Farlane tries to apply a local touch, blending his ideas with traditional flavour.

In West Mall especially, he used a lot of the traditional reds of Christmas, fusing poinsettias into his designs.

When asked if he had conflicts of interest in designing for competing malls, he said, “there isn’t any problem when it comes to that. Each shopping centre has its own unique space, and my designs are the best suited to the individual centres.”

Mac Farlane still enjoys creating new ideas every year, and the challenge of seeing the concepts through to reality.

Even though all malls will put up some form of decoration, it isn’t always the main focus of Christmas marketing strategies.

Cheaper alternatives

Some malls look for other options, such as huge giveaways, to entice Christmas shoppers.

Grand Bazaar has in recent years cut down its Christmas decor budget.

Being an open air shopping centre, the decorations at Grand Bazaar need to be weather resistant, making it more expensive to decorate.

A lot of its external decorations also need constant replacing as a result of either vandalism or theft or poor maintenance. These problems, exacerbated by the fact that there are 18 buildings needing decorations, means it is more cost effective for the mall to focus on cash and prize incentives, such as their monthly car giveaways.

Internal decorations are then left to the individual store owners.

Effect on shoppers

So how effective are all these expensive Christmas preparations at drawing the crowds?

Extravagant decorations are now the norm in shopping malls across the region. Expected and anticipated by the many shoppers trying to decide where to spend their hard-earned Christmas budget, malls now have to push the boundaries, putting out bigger and better decorations every season.

According to one mall manager, “even if the customer only comes once to see the decorations and do some shopping, the expense has been worth it.’