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Feature: Peru sees Christmas shopping boom

Xinhua, December 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Peru's retailers are having a banner year in Christmas sales, as Peruvians spent big at major shopping centers around the country.

During the Christmas season, stores selling holiday ornaments, computer games, household appliances, clothing, shoes and food were bustling with shoppers, reflecting the country's healthy economy.

Rosa Mendoza, 35, accompanied by her two children, 11 and nine, was among the throngs on Saturday at Open Plaza, located in the southern district of the capital Lima.

"The market is full of sophisticated toys like robots and romote-control helicopters and drones, mechanical things my children like," Mendoza told Xinhua.

"We are looking for the best prices and, honestly, here you can find all price ranges," said Mendoza, a wife, mother and cosmetologist at a beauty salon.

She believes Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who took office at the end of July, has energized the economy.

"There seems to be more shopping during this year's Christmas holiday, perhaps because the economy has improved compared to last year," she said.

The latest economic report in December from the president of the Central Reserve Bank, Julio Velarde, indicated a substantial rise in this year's gross domestic product (GDP) compared with the year before.

Analysts are forecasting an economic growth of more than 4 percent in 2016, improving on 2015's GDP growth of 3.26 percent.

According to the consulting firm Global Research Marketing (GRM), end-of-year sales in Peru are expected to reach 1.1 billion U.S. dollars, fueled by end-of-year bonuses.

Felix Quispe, 29, was scouring the shopping center for just a perfect toy for his three-year-old daughter.

Quispe, a secondary-school teacher, said "her mother and I are looking for a toy that will develop her learning capacity, that's why we have gone to more than half a dozen stores, but we still haven't found the right gift."

"It could be a puzzle ... musical instrument or any toy apt for her age that can stimulate her mental abilities," he added.

Like holiday shoppers around the world, most Peruvians do their Christmas shopping about a week before, while 11 percent leave everything until the last minute and have to scramble on Dec. 24, according to a GRM study. Some 28 percent plan two weeks ahead, and 13 percent plan as far as a month ahead. Endit