Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion believes that not only will there be higher consumer spending this coming Christmas season, but it will even be bigger compared to last year.
(MB file photo)
During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 20, Concepcion touted consumption during the Christmas season as “good for economy.”
“Normally, the fourth quarter is the strongest quarter every year dahil sa (because of) Christmas. So, iyong (the) Christmas spending talagang importante yan (is really important),” he said, adding that Filipinos love giving gifts to relatives and friends.
In fact, the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Jobs Lead shared that Christmas spending has started already based on the sales of the gift packages by his company, RFM Corp.
“We see this year even stronger than last year. So, medyo talagang mukhang maganda itong Christmas (this Christmas is quite good),” he said.
“May mga pera ang tao na talagang they are (People have money. They are really) spending to give gifts hindi katulad noong pandemya talagang matumal ang negosyo. Pero (unlike during the pandemic when business was slow. But) now, you can see very strong consumer spending,” Concepcion, RFM Corp.’s president, added.
This, he stressed, is “good for economy” because “when people see more confidence in the economy, especially in the leadership under President Marcos, they want to invest in the Philippines.”
Concepcion sees returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to be the drivers of Christmas season consumption because it is “Filipino tradition to spend Christmas here” and the currency exchange is stronger now.
“Ang dami natin na mga OFWs na bumabalik dito (A lot of OFWs come home) for Christmas and of course they are all bringing mga pasalubong (gifts),” he noted.
“They will also be one of the bigger consumers right now because they are getting I would say 10 percent more from their dollar that they earn or whatever currency...So, it’s giving them more capabilities to spend,” he added.