Some business operators in Wildey, St Michael, are pleased with the level of trade going on in that area.
On the other hand, others believe the busy shopping hub would do better with a lot more promotion.
Wildey is home to a variety of shops and salons, hardware stores, banks, schools, service stations and car dealers. There are three main shopping centres offering a wide variety of products and services.
Over the years, there would have been some changes to the flow of traffic in that vicinity.
Businesspeople operating from the Palm Plaza told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY there was heavy vehicular and human traffic passing through on any given day. But, they say, because of the design of the road, most would not stop unless they had a reason to or initially set out to go there.
Karen Holder is one of the operators at Bejas Solutions in that plaza. She said business had improved since she started working there in May last year.
“It has its good days, but then we have the seasons when I need to pray. It is now better, there is more traffic passing through the area and more people are coming in,” she said.
“I find that people are looking for sales. And they feel empowered even if they are spending $20. It has gotten better in terms of traffic. Last month I had those days when I really had to pray,” reported Holder.
Wid-A-Difrance is one of the newer stores in the mall. One operator there who requested anonymity said the mall was not always busy “but it has its times when business is good; mostly around the holidays”.
“I would say that business is decent. Fridays and Saturdays are decent, traffic-wise.”
One of the operators at the Buzz Salon said the flow of traffic had its advantage and disadvantage.
She said: “I find that the flow of traffic will cause a lot of people to bypass this plaza. Some of them don’t stop here unless they know exactly where they are going. But that heavy traffic flow can also help business.”
Kenny Clarke said it was amazing, the heavy traffic that would pass through the area on a daily basis. He said Wildey “is a good area for business” that has “a little bit of everything”.
The Wildey Shopping Plaza and Courtesy Garage are currently undergoing structural repairs.
Devon Blackman is a resident in the close by Clapham Park community. He has been living there for the past 35 years. Blackman would have witnessed a lot of the changes to the area over the years.
Sitting at the Cool Liming shop along the Wildey main road, he told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY the community was “a fairly busy” one.
“But this cannot be compared with Bridgetown because there are not that many stores and shopping facilities. But a lot of people are visiting the area to do business.
“It hasn’t changed that much in terms of new business coming in,” he said.
However, he noted that there was a lot more vehicular traffic compared to some years ago. Blackman said, “A lot of people come to Carter’s and the plaza because they sell a variety of things”.
Over at the Clapham Court Plaza, one supervisor at the Beauty Exchange shop said she believed more could be done to get more business along the busy thoroughfare.
“It is a good area for business but advertising is lacking. If it was advertised, it would do us a lot of justice. When some people find us they say they are happy that they don’t have to go to [Bridgetown],” she said.
“I think that advertising would do us a lot of [good] because a lot of people still don’t know about the plaza or where it is located, so advertising would do a lot for us.”
She added that the area also needs a variety of restaurants.
A stone’s throw away is Wildey Road. It is home to a number of small and medium-sized businesses and offices that flesh out commerce and trade along Wildey main road.
There is also Collymore Rock and vibrant Bridgetown to the west, and for those who would avoid?Bridgetown, the popular Sheraton Centre to the east.
