COTTON TOP FROM ZARA; MULTI-TIER SKIRT, +20 BULBS; PATENT LEATHER BELT, EARRINGS AND BANGLES, ALL FROM ALDO, AND SUEDE FLATS FROM FONT AT SOLE 2 SOLE. CANVAS AND EXOTIC LEATHER CARRY-ALL FROM COACH

The Indonesian shipping manager timed her business trip here to coincide with the GSS, and since arriving last Sunday, she has snagged deals ranging from a 16-piece dinnerware set to designer bed linen and towels to three designer bags and several pairs of shoes.

'The discounts are very good and I like that there are different things on offer, not just clothes and jewellery,' she says of the GSS, which is now in its 14th year.

Not just overseas visitors, but more Singaporeans are joining the jostling throngs this year - and what's more, splashing more cash than they were last year, says retailers.

And get set for more sales frenzy this weekend, they reckon.

With the two-month sale kicking off last week as the school holidays started and with yesterday's public holiday falling amid that, retailers Life! spoke to say they have noticed higher numbers of Singaporeans snapping up savvy buys.

Over at department store Metro, even though it's still early into the GSS, shopper volume has already been good, says its advertising and promotions manager Veronica Lee.

From the sale's first day, crowds have been definitely bigger compared to regular days when the stores open at 10am, says Ms Lee. 'Usually on weekday mornings, you don't see many people shopping at the (Metro) store in Paragon except for tourists, but there are more local shoppers now. They must be taking leave to come down to shop.'

She also notes that 'just one day after Metro GSS products appeared in a spread of Urban (The Straits Times' Thursday fashion supplement), customers were bringing down the paper and asking for the outfits'.

Retailers have said they are expecting a 5 per cent increase in sales figures on last year's $5 billion in takings.

Ms Theresa Yong, one of the partners of Quintessential in Mandarin Gallery, a boutique that brings in cult bag labels, has noticed more local shoppers at her outlet.

She says: 'It's not just that there are more people buying, but they are also buying more - the receipt amounts are higher now.'

She adds: 'The upturn in the economy definitely has an impact. It didn't feel so upbeat last year. We're expecting between 5 and 10 per cent more sales takings this time.'

Ms Yong says another factor driving increased sales is the two-percentage-point rise in GST which takes effect next month.

'Psychologically, people want to stock up before July, especially with bigger ticket items,' she says. 'It's that I-might-as-well-buy-it-now mentality.'

Increased sales at Wing Tai Clothing, which brings in labels like Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Ben Sherman, Miss Selfridge and Warehouse, have caused takings to rise at least 20 per cent since May 18 - when it kicked off a pre-sale sale - over the same promotional period last year.

Its marketing communications manager Lisa Chai says the number of shoppers has also soared 20 per cent. Things were so busy last Saturday that as early as 11am, a queue had formed from the fitting room at Topshop in Wisma Atria and snaked outside to the entrance of the Aldo shoe shop 50m away.

Echoing Quintessentials' Ms Yong, Ms Chai says that customers are also buying more now, leaving the store with no fewer than three items.

It seems nothing is holding back Singapore's avid bargain-hunters, not even construction works affecting the tunnel that links Orchard MRT station to Wisma Atria.

Mr Alfie Tang, general manager of Bree, a German luxury leather store at Wisma Atria, notes: 'Before, it was easy to get 20 passers-by per minute. In the last few months, because of the closure, the numbers fell to eight.

'But since the GSS started last Friday, I have seen about 14 passers-by per minute, not quite the record of its heyday, but still more than the norm.'

He adds that in the first weekend of the GSS, from last Friday to last Sunday, the store posted its highest weekend sales for this year, with 67 per cent more takings than usual.

On average, a Bree leather bag costs $400 and even with the GSS on, the shop's discounts range mostly in the 20 per cent region.

neosta@sph.com.sg