Retailers are enjoying a uniquely Bermudian fillip this week in the lead up to the Cup Match holiday.

What is effectively a four-day holiday for many people is also a much anticipated peak sales time for shopkeepers.

The final few days before the holiday are important for retailers, and while the last few days of heavy rain may have dampened some of the early demand, it has only temporarily delayed customers from making their planned purchases.

That’s the view of Paula Clarke, chief executive officer of Gibbons Company and head of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce’s retail division.

“It’s virtually a four-day weekend. It’s one of the biggest holidays in Bermuda, and it is something that’s uniquely Bermudian,” she said.

“People are buying clothes, food, equipment, camping gear, and they are preparing their houses.

“Fashion plays a huge part in the Cup Match celebrations, for men, women and children, and we bring in items specifically for Cup Match weekend.”

Ms Clarke said the weekend before Cup Match, together with the final few days before it, would be the busiest for retailers.

When asked what impact the wet weather might have had on shoppers’ intentions, she said: “People will still come out and buy what they need. They’ll just do it a little closer to Cup Match.”

A retail sector boost would be timely after the most recent retail sales index figures showed a relatively flat picture for May. During that month the value of sales edged up to $89 million, but once adjusted for inflation fell 0.1 per cent by volume year-on-year.

The effect of Cup Match in boosting sales may not be as great as it once was.

Susan Gilbert, who is the owner of Pirate’s Port Kids in the Washington Mall, said: “It used to be a great weekend. People would buy five outfits for the Cup Match weekend. But it’s not like that now.”

Cup Match sale posters are on display in the windows of her shop and the nearby Pirate’s Port Ladies. However, the rainy weather at the weekend did no favours. Four-and-a-half inches of rain fell on Friday and Saturday, and that kept many shoppers at home.

Nevertheless, Ms Gilbert said: “We are doing some specials for Cup Match, and we have discounted items. We still believe we have a great selection and keep our prices at a good level.”

She said there were recent sales boosts during the school graduation season and in the run up to start of the summer day camps.

Elsewhere, the influence of Cup Match was evident in the window displays of many stores.

Cake shop Glaze, on Bermudiana Road, is selling doughnuts topped in the colours of St George’s and Somerset cricket clubs. By midday yesterday it had sold out of its Somerset selection and was hurriedly making more to keep up with demand.

As previously featured in The Royal Gazette, clothes shop Frangipani has an exclusive range of dresses, accessories, hats, pants and tops in Cup Match colours on sale at its outlets in St George, Hamilton and at Bermuda Trader in Dockyard, and Home WorX Ltd on York Street, St George, has also boosted the amount of Cup Match-themed apparel it is selling.

The Cup Match holiday starts on Thursday.