Crisis, immigration woes dampen holiday shopping

Gone are the days when last-minute Christmas shoppers would crowd grocery stores and shopping centers or form long lines at cashiers’ booths, with the financial crisis deepening and lingering immigration uncertainties shrinking the customer base, forcing many to hold on to their hard-earned money until they secure federal work status.

Clement Kaipat and his family spent almost the whole day yesterday “looking for the right gifts” to stretch their estimated $300 budget for their children’s toys and for exchange gifts.

“We started at around 10:30am and it’s now almost 4pm but we still haven’t found all the right gifts. We prepared for this occasion but the economy is really affecting everyone. The prices of toys and gifts have gone up so we have to be really picky,” said Kaipat in an interview at the Lollipops store in Garapan. Lollipops is one of the most popular stores for children’s toys and clothing on Saipan.

Despite the limited budget, he and his wife said they try to make the occasion as merry as possible for their four children.

Nhitz Manalo, supervisor at Payless Supermarket in Chalan Kanoa, is seeing an increase in the number of grocery shoppers this past few days because of the holidays but she said the number of shoppers and volume of sales are definitely a lot fewer and lesser this year than in previous years.

She said their daily sales during the holidays this year are $2,000 to $3,000 lesser than their sales last year.

“There’s a big difference from the sales of last year and the years before that. We believe it’s because of the economy, the delayed release of rebate and refund checks, the work hour cuts, and the fact that many Filipinos have already gone home. As we all know, Christmas is such a big holiday for Filipinos and they really prepare lots of food. Those who are still here are also not spending as much because they don’t know yet if their CW application or parole application will be approved. Many of them are also jobless now,” said Manalo, herself a nonresident worker from the Philippines.

Manalo, who has been working on Saipan for almost 17 years, said her Christmas wish is for the CNMI economy to recover so that more people will regain employment.

Joy De Belen, 30, got her Christmas package yesterday at the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa. She said she ordered children’s gifts, clothing, and other personal items online and have her relatives in Texas mail them to her to save money.

De Belen said her only wish is for her whole family to be able to remain in the CNMI. She said her husband is still waiting for his CW-1 petition to be granted. She said her husband also applied for a CW-2 status for her as dependent of a foreign worker.

“We have young children, and they’re both U.S. citizens-a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old. If our petitions are not approved, we will be forced to leave,” said De Belen, who is also waiting for Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan’s H.R. 1466 to be passed by Congress. The bill seeks a grant of CNMI-only resident status to four groups of people, including immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.

At the post office, at least one couple said they were lucky to find their child tax credit check in the mail just in time for Christmas.

Adrian Torre and his family, who made their Christmas grocery shopping at Joeten Shopping Center in Garapan yesterday, said the economy has generally affected “everyone in some ways.”

“We are still doing okay but we hope the situation here doesn’t get worse than it already is. We also wish there will be more job opportunities and better assistance for people in need,” said Torre, of As Matuis.

George Moses, supervisor at Joeten Shopping Center in Garapan, said that people still want to keep the spirit of Christmas alive by buying gifts for their loved ones gifts, preparing food, and decorating their houses.

“We’ve seen increased shopping because of the holidays but I can’t say whether we have more sales this year than last year. The holidays are not yet over,” he said.

Moses also said despite the sad state of the economy, they were able to sell all of their Christmas trees.

“A week before Christmas, people were still looking for Christmas trees but we sold out everything. People still want to have their Christmas trees even though the economy is bad,” he added.

He said Joeten Shopping Center in Garapan added cashiers for the holiday season, in anticipation of the volume of shoppers.

“We don’t want customers to wait in line for a long time. We’re always focused on customer service. Our Susupe branch also extended shopping hours because of the holidays,” he added.

Jocelyn Palacios and Maria Calma, both sales associates at Lollipops, said the most saleable items at the store are pillow pets, Hello Kitty products, and children’s bicycles, which were already sold out a week before Christmas. They said their 12-inch to 20-inch bicycles sold for $89 to $129 each.

“Bicycles sold out fast. People still want the best for their children,” Palacios said.

Calma, who has worked at the store for seven years, said this year’s volume of shoppers is much fewer compared to two years ago.

“We used to have long lines, but we don’t see that now. Two years ago, sales were still high. But last year, it was really down and this year, it has gotten worse. But because the holiday shopping is not over yet, we may still have the same volume of sales. We are hoping that will be the case,” she added.

Eric Borja, a Dandan resident, was also at the store buying toys for his two godchildren.

“This is my first time to buy. I know the economy is down but it’s a tradition to remember your loved ones on Christmas so I’m here,” he said.

Naiomi Sasaki, 19, also went to check their mailbox at the post office in Chalan Kanoa, and it was filled with magazines for the church and personal letters, including at least one Christmas card.

“My Christmas wish is for me to be able to stay here on Saipan longer,” she said. The former Northern Marianas College student is here for the holidays, but she said she wanted to be able to find a part-time job here while waiting to be enrolled at the University of Guam.

The CNMI economy is not expected to recover soon, after being hit hard by the pullout of its garment industry and the continuous drop in tourist arrivals, coupled with high fuel, utility and shipping costs, smaller customer base, and uncertainties related to federalization of local immigration. The government budget of $102 million for fiscal year 2012 has already shrunk to a level last seen some 22 years ago.