Traders fear 40 per cent dip in Deepavali sales this year

While businessmen invested lakhs in buying goods anticipating a bumper Deepavali sale, a noticeable lull in shopper’s enthusiasm has damped the traders’ prospects. 

With shopping hubs like Purasawalkam, T Nagar and George Town experiencing significantly decreased number of buyers, shopkeepers said that to them, it does not feel like a festival time at all.

C Sarathy, Ranganathan Street Merchants Association said, “Previously, Deepavali sales in T Nagar used to last for around 45 days.

These days because the shops are scattered and the sales do not account for much. It does not even feel like it’s Deepavali in a day. The shops in the Panagal park junction and Ranganathan street junction, however, seem to be doing decent business.”

Why has there been such a drastic decrease in sales? “The buying strength among the people in Tamil Nadu has come down. There is rampant unemployment across the state which has contributed to this. Yes, small businesses are suffering, but I feel for the plight of the cracker shops even more as they are empty,” said Vikrama Raja, president of Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangam Peramaippu.

A vendor at a stall in YMCA Grounds Nandanam, A Naser, confirmed that this year the sale has been less than that of last year.

“There are many factors for poor sales. The rainy weather added to our woes. But we are still hopeful, as last year we managed to bring up the sales on the last day. So we are hoping that more people will bu from us on Monday and we can close with a high.”

He added, “As usual the fast-moving items have been sparklers, flower pots, sattai, and some of the bombs. We don’t have any specific items based on current trends on sale this time like the Bigg Boss crackers used last year.” Shops have also adopted gift bags for sale. The bags contain an assortment of crackers and prices start as low as Rs 200. Despite the ban on stringed fireworks, they were also seen available for sale at a handful of shops across the city.