Eid shopping dampened by economic and security concerns

KARACHI, September 26 (Internews): The Eid-ul-Fitr festival is next week and the people in Pakistan, both young and old, prepare for three days of festivities with much fervour. It’s an ideal time for businesses to thrive as people buy new clothes, shoes, jewellery, home decor items and gifts for each other.

Bazaars are lit up and temporary stalls selling artificial jewellery, bangles and children’s clothes mushroom all over the sidewalk as most potential buyers are women and children.

However, this Eid, gloom seems to have overcome the season as the country is struggling with economic crisis such as high rising inflation and constant terrorism threats. Shopkeepers who had witnessed a decline in sales over the past several months had been banking on the Eid season to enjoy booming sales.

Yet, shopkeepers in Karachi say that they are disappointed as sales have not increased as much as they had anticipated. Traders in the markets of KDA, Tariq Road and Gulf Road said that the bazaars are full of people, but most are either window shoppers or those who have limited means and are therefore spending very carefully.

Chairman of Traders Action Committee, Siddiq Memon informed that they had ensured the best security possible, introduced paid parking to improve the parking situation and had deployed volunteers to guide the traffic and customers around the bazaars.

He said that business had picked up momentum and the traders were enjoying better business than what had been in recent months, but inflation had hampered the spirits of the people as it had limited their spending power.

Shopkeepers around the bazaars in the city said that they had introduced special discounts up to 50 per cent on clothes and other items to encourage customers to spend more. They admitted that prices of goods were comparatively higher this season than the previous year, but added that these discounts helped to bring the prices down.

Saima Aziz, a mother of three children said that even with the discounts, it did not help much as prices of other products had soared which made making ends meet extremely difficult.

She said “Even if a pair of sandals is priced at Rs250 after discount, the same was available for Rs150 last year. Likewise, salaries of the people have remained the same over this one year, but prices of essential commodities such as petrol and food items have increased to limit our means.”

According to Masooma Razi, who resides in Lahore, the city has been deeply affected by terrorist attacks around the country and the festive spark reflected last year was significantly amiss.

She voiced that this year, inflation in the country had also played a major role in discouraging the common public from visiting the markets. She said that very few discounts were being offered in shops in Lahore and everyone was lamenting over the rising prices.

Asma Sufiyan, also residing in Lahore was of the opinion that while prices of goods were rising and the popularity of fashion industry had led to branded items entering the market at a rapid pace, there were cheaper alternatives in the form of Chinese products.

“Lahore has a good variety of Chinese products such as clothes, cosmetics, footwear and jewellery items, which are all over the market and within easy access. These items are not only trendy but also popular amongst the middle and lower middle class society,” she elucidated.

Bashir Chaudhry, a journalist who lives in Islamabad, informed that prior to the Marriott blast, the bazaars sported a festive look and the evenings witnessed throngs of women buying clothes, jewellery and items for home decor.

He said that Islamabad had been very much active in celebrating Ramadan and also preparing for the three days of Eid ul Fitr. “However, the blast that rocked our city dampened all the festivities and a gloom has overshadowed the entire city now as people are afraid for their lives,” he stated.

“It is sad to note that after a year of difficulties, people were finally moving back into their lives and looking forward to Eid to escape their worries, and this blast had to happen just now to throw the people right back to where they started from,” he expressed.

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