Big demand: Loo standing next to a tall pile of Chinese New Year hampers.
JOHOR BARU: Businesses offering hampers for Chinese New Year here are seeing brisk sales with orders coming in as early as December.
Yeh Hui Min, who manages booths selling Chinese New Year hampers, said sales had increased by at least 20% so far compared to last year.
“Apart from the three outlets we have in Johor Baru, we have also opened another 10 booths in malls and other public areas.
“The demand from both the booths and outlets seemed to be growing rapidly since last week.
“We started receiving orders for Chinese New Year as early as December. Sales have been pretty encouraging this year, and I believe that it will get even better as we get closer to Chinese New Year next month,” she said in an interview.
She added that the strengthening of the Singapore dollar against the ringgit also contributed to the improved sales.
“Our customers in Johor Baru are a mix of both locals and Singaporeans. As such, the currency exchange between the ringgit and the Singapore dollar is a significant attraction for Singaporeans to shop here.
“On top of that, this is only the second year we are celebrating Chinese New Year since the reopening of the border.
“Last year, people were still recovering from the pandemic and may not have wanted to spend that much on hampers.
“However, the situation is not the same this year. We are now also seeing more businesses and companies ordering hampers for their customers and business partners,” she said.
Echoing that sentiment was Kimberly Ng, a marketing lead of another hamper company, who said many who previously ordered online during the pandemic were now buying the hampers physically.
“Our younger customers may still prefer using online platforms to make the orders, but those who used to buy them physically have gone back to that.
“The crowd we see this year is definitely a lot better compared to the past two years. We started seeing a spike in sales last week as people started making preparations for Chinese New Year,” she said.
Hamper store owner Loo Chok Nan said the Chinese New Year spirit was in full swing this year with families and businesses more willing to spend money.
“Things seem to have started to pick up this year. Since the reopening of the border in 2022, we have been seeing sales slowly returning to their pre-pandemic numbers.
“This year is no different. The upward trend continues year by year, and this is a very good sign,” he said.
