24 hour shopping – Are Jamaican consumers ready?
Author : teriannJamaica has long left behind its image of a sleepy back water place that offers limited technology.
In fact we have embraced many advancements including high speed Internet and the use of credit and debit cards while shopping.
In the past if you wanted to find somewhere that was open past midnight your choices were between fast food places and a small selection of pharmacies.
There has been a recent thrust to cater to the needs of the consumers by extending the hours of various businesses. This move has been welcomed by many consumers as they often lament there is simply not enough time in the day to complete their errands.
Especially if you have small children, emergencies arrive at all hours of the night and sometimes without proper planning parents need to to buy diapers or formula at an hour when most supermarkets are closed.
Late Night Brawta
Consumers are therefore thrilled at the recent change at The MegaMart wholesale club which is now open 24 hours. The pharmacy and food court sections of the supermarket are however closed at the usual time, which is 11:00 p.m.
The store has even launched a promotion called ‘Late Night Brawta’ in order to encourage customers to shop late at night.
The promotion offers customers a $300.00 voucher for every $2000.00 they spend if they shop between the hours of 11 p.m and 5:59 a.m.
Is this a good move?
Well while I am sure many will appreciate the convenience, there are other factors to consider.
The cashiers work on a shift basis, so it is hoped they would have had adequate rest before reporting for work on the late night shift.
If not it would be easy for exhaustion to result in incorrect items being cashed especially if at that late hour the consumer is not very alert.
There is also the security factor, workers travelling to and from work or consumers who do not drive could be placing themselves at risk. Nevertheless, 24 hour shopping does seem like the way of the future!
What’s your take? Let me hear from you!
Teri Ann Renee Paisley
Gleaner Online Writer
Tags: shopping 24 hours
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5 Responses to “24 hour shopping – Are Jamaican consumers ready?”
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the concerns raised while understood, are not valid. this will not be the first entity in the island to go 24hrs. gas stations are the biggest example.
True Phillip, gas stations do open 24 hours but the shopping experience is fairly new to Jamaican shores although I am sure we will rise to the challenge.
I am a bit surprised at the author lack of knowledge or even touting the fact that the staff on duty would be tired and at risk. How about giving the employer a shot of optimism instead and trust that they are intelligent enough to employ persons who are willing to work the graveyard shifts.
It has been a fact of life in the neck of woods that I have visited over the past year, and it stimulates the economy by hiring more people and encouraging the population to have access to what they need, when they need it.
Kudos to MegaMart. The time has come for Jamaica to move forward
Jamaicans want to shop 24 hours. What about working hours being extended or more employment being made available 24 hours? Now that would’ve progressive!
thanks for sharing