Kolkata: With just two weekends left before Durga Puja and clear skies, shoppers thronged the city’s shopping hubs. Traders said sales remained subdued but expected business to pick up gradually. Some said this Sunday was better than last.Dipshikha Ghorai, a VII student from Howrah’s Sankrail, came to New Market area with her family. “We come to New Market every year to buy our Puja clothes. We were apprehensive about rain but are happy that it did not rain at all today (Sunday),” she said.Tusti Roy Chowdhury, a social media influencer from New Town, was in New Market with her husband. “This is the second time we are in New Market area this year for shopping. We went to Gariahat earlier for buying sarees. We have come to New Market to buy sarees for our family,” said Roy Chowdhury.Nasim Ahmed, the owner of a store selling wristwatches of multiple brands at New Market area, said sales picked up over the weekend. “We had good sales on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was much better compared to last week. I am expecting business will pick up more in the coming days,” he said. Another trader said once the salary of Sept is credited, more people are likely to visit the shopping hubs.At Gariahat too, many of the stores were teeming with people. Manabendra Saha, director of Traders Assembly, said their sales so far this year have been “good”.“It is just like last year. People are coming,” he said. At Hatibagan, many traders said sales were yet to pick up. Raju Dey, who owns a retail garments store at Hatibagan, was not happy with the sales. “It is not good. It is 60% less compared to last year,” he said. The shoppers were, however, soaking in the spirit of an approaching Durga Puja. Suman Banerjee, a Garia resident, travelled from south to north because he loves to shop at Hatibagan before Durga Puja.“I have already come here on two days this year. I will possibly come on another day. The prices are reasonable in Hatibagan,” he said.The malls also did good business on Sunday. “Footfall has risen by around 20% over the past two weekends, and more families are arriving in the early afternoon. That gives them time to shop, eat and make an outing of it. Sales are also running around 20% ahead of the comparable pre-Puja period last year. One trend that stands out is the strength of beauty and fashion brands,” said an official of South City Mall. Acropolis Mall authorities said their parking space was packed on Sunday.“Till 6 pm, the footfall was 12,000. We are expecting the footfall to touch the 20,000 mark towards the closing of the mall,” said an official of Acropolis Mall.
