THURSDAY afternoon’s downpour in the capital city was not enough to dampen the spirits of thousands of retail therapy-seeking Jamaicans trying to bag bargains during Jamaica OBSERVER CELEBRATES FASHION’S NIGHT OUT (FNO).

They flooded the streets and plazas of Kingston and St Andrew, some happy with the discounts, others asking for wider margins.

From as early as midday, customers were urging participating retailers in Half-Way-Tree to begin offering the discounts which were slated to take effect at 5:00 pm and end five hours later. In many cases, the retailers reportedly obliged.

By 4:00 pm, police personnel assigned to manage traffic in the St Andrew capital and surrounding areas knew they were in for a hectic night as throngs of women, men and in some cases schoolchildren, many accompanied by their parents, descended on the city’s shopping malls.

Sections of downtown Kingston, such as King Street, Orange Street and Parade — which would normally be virtual ghost towns after 6:00 pm — were abuzz with activity even at 8:00 pm when the Sunday Observer toured the commercial district.

On King Street, some small- and medium-sized retailers of appliances and other household items complained that they weren’t benefiting from the event as shoppers were more interested in purchasing clothing. This seemed to have been the case when the Sunday Observer team toured the area and observed the steady flow of customers in stores such as Ammar’s and Joseph’s. There was also a steady stream of shoppers patronising clothing retailers which were not registered FNO participants, but which sought to capitalise on the event.

Some shoppers in the downtown Kingston area took issue with the nature of the discounts in some of the major outlets. In one case, a nurse, who was seen rummaging through a rack of high-end blouses, complained that the discounts should have been better.

“I am not blown away,” she said as she pointed to other items in the store which attracted discounts of up to 50 per cent.

Others, particularly women, argued for better discounts on school textbooks.

In Half-Way-Tree, the multitude of shoppers descended on all the shopping spaces including those on Twin Gates, Tropical and Premier plazas.

From observation, retailers of clothing, electronic items, jewellery and other accessories seemed to have been the big winners as operators of these entities had to employ crowd management tactics to ensure that their staff was not overwhelmed. At Carby’s on Twin Gates, like quite a number of outlets in the Half-Way-Tree area, sound system operators ensured a fusion of FNO and music.

Even small store owners expressed delight as shoppers passed through their outlets. “I am pleased with the traffic. If they don’t shop today, they are likely to return later,” said Claude Stewart, owner of the Learning Zone, an educational supplies store located on Premier Plaza.

For Jasmine Morrison of Collectibles, a shoes and leather supplies store, the event was good. Like other major retailers who the Sunday Observer contacted, Morrison was not prepared to comment on actual earnings as at the time of our interview the entity had not completed the accounting process.