The heavy rainfall in the city today failed to dampen the spirits of shoppers who, with the biggest festival of Bengal, ‘Durgotsav’, approaching, have been thronging malls and marketplaces in Kolkata for last minute shopping. Shopkeepers, however, said there was a dip in sales in comparison to last year. Shops in different malls saw a surge in footfall. Every year, people from various states and overseas come to Kolkata for a shopping spree followed by pandal hopping.
The crowd of shoppers at New Market area today was enormous and uncountable. Most people gathered to complete their last minute shopping since today is the last Sunday before the Puja. In some of the stores, where people often bargain with the sales staff, fixed price tags have been put up in front of the shops. The most popular shopping hubs across Kolkata such as New Market at Esplanade, Hatibagan market, Gariahat in South Kolkata, were brimming with people. These marketplaces are a crowd puller for their unique collections, said a shopper.
However, if the comments of the shopkeepers are anything to go by, in comparison to last year’s sales, the garment stores are running a huge loss this year. Store managers of some of the reputed shops rued that at this point of time, every year, the shops run out of stock due to heavy demands. But this year, the scenario is quite contrary. Many of the shopkeepers are also attributing the dip in sales to the dominance of online retail chains.