Burnham-On-Sea traders have experienced a mixed festive season of business, with some reporting their best-ever Christmas.
Burnham-On-Sea.com has spoken to many shop owners along the High Street to find out how they faired over the vital holiday period.
Truckles farm shop’s Ron Bashford said: “We stopped taking pre-Christmas orders a week early because it was so busy. We had a really good Christmas with trade well up on last year.”
Fishmonger Seafoods’ Ryan Mount said: “We had a quiet December but it picked up with some poultry orders in the final days before Christmas.”
Sentiments’ Shaun Coggins added: “We were slightly up on last year. There were good sales of greetings cards and gifts – the opening of B&M has not had a big impact.”
Burnham Goldsmiths saw “mixed trade that was very dependent on the weather with around the same number of shoppers as last Christmas.”
John’s Shop, a new gift shop in Burnham High Street, saw a busy few weeks. Gary Stacey said: “We had a really good first Christmas of trade – it was very busy the whole time with lots of small gifts being bought. It’s been a busy start.”
GW Hurleys’ Colin Morris added: “The last days before Christmas were flat and the rest of the holiday period was fair. B&M has hurt us overall, with trade down around 6% since they opened.”
Hidden Treasures gift shop had a more positive holiday season: “We did well and it was a busy time with late gift sales, but overall it’s not been as busy a year as last Christmas.”
The team at Julians gift shop added: “Footfall was definitely down in the High Street since B&M opened. The lack of a food shop has reduced the overall number of shoppers.”
Sweet Shack’s Lyn Laurence added: “We saw steady trade in the run-up to Christmas. There didn’t seem to be as many people about as some previous years, but we held our own and, all in all, we had a good 2016.”
Books and Puzzles’ manager Ian Hampton in Pier Street added: “We saw the same level of trade as Christmas 2015 – it wasn’t up or down. The rest of 2016 was also quiet, but we are holding our own.”
