Bicholim/Quepem: With prices of essential goods at a high and people’s spending power has dwindled over the past two years due to the pandemic-related slowdown, traders across markets in the State are experiencing a disappointing festive season.
Even as the demand for fruits, flowers and matoli items saw shoppers thronging local markets, the sale of clothes, appliances and other household items saw a dip with people preferring to shop online, where they get better discounts than visit the local markets.
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In Bicholim for instance, vendors had purchased stocks on a large scale, expecting a boom in business this year, with pandemic-related apprehensions and unemployment on the wane. The gamble has however proved costly for small vendors as most of their stock has remained unsold and there are high chances that vendors might incur major losses if the business fails to pick up over the next couple of days.
Fireworks, especially rockets and multi shots, that are usually purchased on a large scale for Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav celebrations have fizzled this year, with shoppers reluctant to spend on crackers.
At the Quepem market, traders report a meagre 10% rise in sales this festive season, as compared to the pandemic period. Avdhoot Sukhtankar, a local businessman, said that the market has still not recovered. “Sales may have only increased by 10% since last year. Business used to be good before 2020, but after the Covid-19 period, there is still fear in people’s minds, that such a situation may arise again. Even people who can afford to do a lot of shopping for the festival are not ready to spend because they are anxious about another lockdown situation,” said Sukhtankar.
With devotees being cautious about spending on firecrackers this year and choosing to buy clothes on online shopping apps, many local businessmen at the Ponda market have suffered losses. Fruit and flower vendors however seem to be unaffected by the changing trends.
The expanding range of the Ponda market and the entry of new vendors and kiosks on the outskirts of the city have affected the business at the main market. The last two years have drastically changed the buying and spending moods of the people, say traders.
