Stores enjoying buoyant sales of affordable merchandise

From clothing to luxury fashion accessories, electronics to kitchen ware, made-in-China products feature prominently in many stores, shops and retail chains in Kenya that are geared up for Christmas.

Retailers have not only fully stocked their shops to reap rewards from Christmas shopping but have also slashed prices and are offering promotional cards for free gifts with purchases to attract more customers. Retailers are hustling to pack in the shoppers.

Pauline Weni, who runs a boutique in Nairobi, along with three others across the country, says most of her clothing and fashion accessories are imported from China.

"Products from China are affordable, and the importation process is easier," she says.

Weni says her boutique is fully stocked, and she hopes to make more sales during this season. She says her boutique has been busy since the beginning of the month, and with few days to go before Christmas, she expects more customers in the last-minute rush.

"Kenyans are used to shopping at the last minute so I expect more customers in the remaining days to Christmas. To handle the expected customers, I have increased my staff from three to five," she says.

A few meters from Weni's boutique is Judas Mutiri's shop, which deals with mobile phones and accessories. The area has several similar shops, all fully stocked.

In Mutiri's shop, Chinese brands dominate the shelves. They include Techno, Huawei, Phoenix, infinix, OPPO, Lenovo and Wiko.

"Mobile phones are featuring prominently as Christmas gifts. Most of the customers are buying mobile phones as a gift for their parents, siblings or close friends," Mutiri says.

Milka Mukai, a customer, tells China Daily that she is buying a mobile phone as a gift for her mother.

"I'm planning to travel home for Christmas, and I believe a new mobile phone it a fitting gift," she says.

Shanghai-based online shopping mall, Kilimall, is offering up to a 70 percent discount for shoppers during this Christmas season.

To facilitate the offers, the company has signed deals with different manufacturers who have agreed to offer major price cuts on various categories of products on the website

Brian Omondi, team leader in the customer service department, says more sales are expected this season compared with last year, partly because many shoppers are now familiar with the site.

He says smartphones, fashion items and products for home an living are the most popular and account for 90 percent of his sales.

According to Omondi, while the company has partnered with merchants across the globe, Chinese products are generally the most affordable, compared with those from other regions.

He says the uptake of local products labeled FBK (Fulfilled by Kilimall) is high during the Christmas season because it takes only 2 to 3 days for delivery to customers. This is unlike the products labeled "Drop Shipping" (with a water drop mark), which take 3-5 days, and those from global merchants (with an airplane icon) that are delivered within 30 days.

Nakumatt, a regional retail chain, has it's wine bottles covered with Asian designs, beautifully packaged as Christmas gifts. Many other gift products are conspicuous.

According to Nakumatt Holding's Managing Director Atul Shah, the company's gift vouchers are fast emerging as attractive rewards for customers' families and friends.

The retail chain is projecting 34 percent sales growth for the season. With that in mind, it has launched a customer reward scheme that will see 500 lucky people win a year's worth of shopping vouchers.

Globally, retail analysts are projecting marginal growth in the holiday season. In the United States, holiday spending is expected to reach its highest point since the so-called great recession, increasing by 10 percent compared with last year, according to PwC's 2016 Holiday Outlook.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn