The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Sales of artificial Christmas trees have been “overwhelming” in the run-up to the holiday season with the premium pre-lit variety also sparking demand, vendors said yesterday.

Tanya Heastie, Shop Smart’s general manager, told Tribune Business that consumers are increasingly seeking out pre-lit trees because they will not have to throw them away in January and can reuse them “year after year”.

Artificial tree sales were also said to be “even better” than in 2022, with Bahamians able to give the Alexa Artificial Intelligence tree commands and watch the colour of its lights change. “They have trees that can go multi-colour and clear at the same time, and they are a big seller,” Ms Heastie added.

Brent Burrows Jr, CBS Bahamas vice-president of retail and sales, said: “Sales compared to last year are about the same, fairly strong, although this year we see more of the premium trees being sold like the pre-lit, for example. Also, people seem to be going after the larger trees, seven feet up to 12 feet, versus the smaller varieties.”

A vendor of authentic Christmas trees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said sales were improved compared to 2022. They added: “It’s not as bad as it was last year, and it definitely won’t be bad next year because I think next year will be the first year where there will be an influx of trees and the market will be back where it used to be.

“But as for this year, everything is going fine. We have some new competition in the game now, too.” Prices for real trees are “not expensive” because people should know what to expect, but “some people are saying they are too expensive” for 2023.

The vendor said last year’s woes stemmed from sourcing Christmas trees in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as there was a shortage of supply from traditional sources. This forced retailers to look to other markets for trees.