Tills are ringing this year and shopkeepers are singing, with retailers having a very merry Christmas.

Spending appears to be up on last year with more locals in the stores and items flying off the shelves.

The Buy Bermuda campaign, better selections in the stores and increased airfares to the United States have combined to boost sales this year.

Retailers said that sales this year were markedly improved from last year and were now looking forward to a final push of last-minute shoppers flooding the stores.

“I think the feeling is that it is better this year than last,” said George Grundmuller, head of the visitor retail division of the Chamber of Commerce. “We are still expecting a last minute rush right up until Christmas Eve, but overall it still looks better than last year.”

Mr. Grundmuller said that the Buy Bermuda campaign had been a big hit, and Sunday shopping had proved more popular this year.

“Last Sunday Reid Street looked like it was a Saturday for shopping,” he said. “Half the vendors were open and it had a great feeling of Christmas about it. The retailers are very pleased and overall I thing Buy Bermuda has helped.”

Mr. Grundmuller said many people had realised that online shopping posed its own problems, with shipping costs adding considerably to the price of goods bought on the Internet while many of the same or similar goods could be bought here for less.

And he said that buying goods abroad and bringing them back was becoming increasingly difficult with security levels higher at US airports. “There is all the difficulty in getting things back now,” he said. “Every bag gets weighed to check it is not over and every bag gets screened. Just bringing things back can be an inconvenience.”

And he said that customers had said that this year there was a better selection in the stores, making buying locally more tempting.

“The shops look wonderful and everyone has gotten in the mood this year,” he added.

Mr. Grundmuller, who runs the Phoenix Stores, said that his shops were also following the trend and had seen some sections do bumper trades.

In the toy department, Bratz dolls had been a hot seller as well as book sales and Christmas cards. The best selling book this year is the second volume of The Royal Gazette's 'Our People Our Story'.

Lawrence Trimingham said that his stores - now both Smith's and Trimingham's - were so busy this year that management had to go down to the shop floor and help unload stock to keep up with demand.

“Wherever we can help, we are out there,” he said, adding that sales were up on last year. “We are pretty pleased. It seems like there are more people staying in Bermuda this year and doing their shopping here.”

He said he was not sure why this was happening, but said that he had heard that it was not only more expensive to get a flight, but also more difficult to get a spot on a plane.

“Customers have also praised us for having a good selection and good prices this year, so they don't have to go abroad and lug it all back and wait to pay duty at customs. We have been working hard to provide customers with the right product at the right price.”

Mr. Trimingham said that the Buy Bermuda campaign had been a success this year, helping raise awareness and boost sales.

Somers Cooper of A.S. Cooper also said that things were going well. “I can only talk for Coopers Man, where I have been working for the past three weeks, but business has been brisk. I am encouraged by the response we have had. This is our first Christmas and we were not sure what to expect.

“I think the increase in air fares for going away have made it too expensive. People have weighed up all the possible options and Bermuda looks better and better. Here we have an awfully large selection at US retail prices and things have been going very well.”

Kristi Grayston, owner and manager of Pulp and Circumstance said that they were rushed off their feet, and at this stage seemed to be doing better than last year.

“But we are working harder for it this year,” she said, adding that many stores were hit hard by Hurricane Fabian and had only just started recovering.

“People are a little more price conscious this year, there are more sales but for smaller amounts. But we are ahead on last year and we are flat out at the moment and that is not a complaint. People are definitely shopping, but are buying more often - they are browsing more and taking their time, which is fine, but are buying less at once.

“Buy Bermuda has definitely been a very effective campaign and overall makes sales staff more aware.”