The first-ever fair to promote consumer electronics in Taipei’s Bade business district (八德商圈) saw the number of shoppers increase by more than 50 percent during the weekend, a shop owner said yesterday.
Sales during the weekend were up between 20 percent and 30 percent, said an employee surnamed Fang, who works at OMC (強越資訊), adding that sales were nevertheless not as good as expected.
The majority of OMC’s customers spent between NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 on low-priced products such as MP3 players and USB flash drives, Fang said.
John Chen (陳彥彰), a deputy store manager at Crete (茂訊電腦), said the low-cost notebook PC Acer Aspire One, which costs NT$15,500 at his store, was the most popular model among consumers and was now out of stock.
“For every 10 notebook computers we sell, four to five of them are the Acer Aspire One, with the white model the most popular,” Chen said, adding that aside from good prices, demand for mobility was also growing.
Asked for his opinion of the event, a store manager surnamed Lin, who works at Chen Shang Information Co (慶聲資訊), said it was very well organized.
However, there seemed to be a lack of advertising, because a lot of customers said they did not know about this event until they got there, he said.
The fair is part of the Taipei Shopping Festival 2008 (台北購物節), which began on Aug. 30 and ends on Oct. 12.
Hundreds of stores, including temporary booths set up by vendors, will continue to offer discounts during the next two weekends after knocking as much as 32 percent off selling prices.
The biggest discount at Crete was on the HP Compaq Presario CQ45, at NT$29,900, down NT$5,000 yesterday.
The shop said that it would also give away printers to notebook buyers.
Other stores sought to attract customers by offering lucky draws after purchases.
Sponsored by the Taipei City Government, Section 1 of Bade Road (八德路一段) was closed off to vehicles this past weekend and will also be closed for the next two weekends.
“Normally, because parking is not allowed in this area, people do not usually stop and shop,” Fang said.
“The clowns at the fair really help make the event more interesting and we see a lot of families among the visitors this time,” Fang said.
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