Rain, traffic hit Eid shopping

Kaiser Murtaza was unwilling to let go of a customer wanting a pair of earrings at his store on Monday. Customers were few and far between anyways. At last, he managed to sell the pair.

But rather than being happy about it, he began to worry about scanty sales on the day. "It's very frustrating. We took many preparations for the government holiday, expecting a good sale. But we got the lowest number of buyers today in the month of Ramadan," said the middle-aged businessman.

It is rare that a government holiday falls during Ramadan. But the day did not bring the same good business for people like Murtaza, who runs a shop selling cosmetics, bags and toys at Muktijoddya Super Market at Mirpur, Dhaka.

"I renovated my shop a few days ago, only for the Eid. I incurred more than Tk 3 lakh for it." Murtaza said if customers don't show up, all his efforts would be fruitless.

Shopkeepers in the market think people may throng the different big shopping malls considering the holiday, a chance to shop after days of continuous rain. The rain was a blessing for small shops in different localities, as people could not commute to the large malls in the city.

"There were hardly any customers on the rainy days," said Mosaddekur Rahman, a leather bag shop owner at Eastern Plaza at Hatirpool in the capital. People do not want to get out of their homes when it rains heavily for shopping, Rahman explained.

They are better able to roam the markets when it does not rain as it is more convenient, he added. "But I sold more bags today (Monday) than on any other regular Ramadan day. It was expected," he said.

But he is worried about the weather. If it rains again this month, he does not think he can fetch back the money he invested.

Most businessmen wait for Ramadan, a peak selling season, to make brisk profits. But for Ashraful Alam Noman, it is totally different. He runs a computer and accessories shop, Super Dot.com, at Bangladesh Computer City at Agargaon.

Noman said they get the lowest number of customers in Ramadan. "You may say there is no Eid for us. Most people like to buy dresses or shoes now, not IT products."

"In the first 10 days of Ramadan, there were very few customers in the market. It seemed like there were only shopkeepers in the market. I sold products worth Tk 7,000 on average these few days, which is nearly 10 percent of our regular sales," he said.

Some customers are visiting the IT shops now but sales have not picked momentum, Noman said. "We sold goods worth nearly Tk 1 lakh today, which should have been over Tk 4.5 lakh," he said on Monday.

"Our condition will be worse this month as we have to pay Eid bonuses along with the salaries to our shop attendants."

But the salary or bonus is not the real headache for the roadside shopkeepers, who set up temporary stalls around the shopping centres or on the footpaths.

They want to occupy the best place everyday to make some quick profits. The low-income groups of people mostly gather at these set-ups.

"I bought children's dresses worth Tk 50,000 for Eid. Now I need some more dresses to sell, as sales will the highest in the last 10 days of Ramadan," said Mohammad Barek, a temporary shop owner on a footpath opposite Dhaka College.

However, all the sellers agree that traffic congestion is their worst enemy. "We are losing many of our permanent customers for the gridlock," said Rahman from Eastern Plaza.

"Some of my customers used to come from Uttara or Baridhara. But now they prefer not to make the commute to my shop as it will take up almost the whole day to return to their homes."

Markets in and around Eastern Plaza have already lost many customers due to the traffic congestion in the area everyday, he added.

Congestion is taking up more and more time by the day. "It was a 30 minutes trip from my home in Mirpur to my workplace when I shifted my business seven years back. Now it takes nearly an hour and a half."

He also pointed the ban of rickshaws on some roads as a major reason behind the drop in sales.

"We used to get many customers from Kathalbagan, Kalabagan and areas near Bangla Motor. But the government prohibited the movement of rickshaws on some routes to the market. It's harming us. People love to roam about freely when it comes to shopping. But the irritating jams and the ban on the three-wheeler's movement are taking a toll on us."

The number of markets in the country has also increased. "More players mean more competition. If we are not provided with the appropriate environment, it will be tough for us to survive," said Rahman.

Businesspeople are hoping to earn some profit this Ramadan, as sales are better this year than last year, according to Murtaza. "Half of Ramadan has passed. Let's see what happens in the next 15 days. We hope it will be good for us."

[email protected]