Year-end rush pushes up sales at shopping hubs in Kolkata – Times of India

KOLKATA: A few big hits in the slog overs of 2020 has helped traders salvage their losses in the pandemic hit year, said store owners, mall managers and businessmen.
A dip in Covid-19 cases, advancing of end of season sale and festive spirit increased shopping activity in the malls and traditional shopping hubs of the city in the second week of December.
Malls registered the highest footfall of the year on the Christmas weekend while the bakery aisle in New Market has been overflowing with cake enthusiasts. Warm clothes, cool jackets and colourful cardigans sold briskly with a drop in mercury last week.
Old favourite of Gariahat saw increase in footfalls. Sulagna Chakraborty, owner of Kids on Gariahat said: “We are happy that people are back at Gariahat to shop. Yes, they are following social-distancing and sanitizing but at least the sentiment is positive. It’s far better than what we did during the pujas.”
Mall managers are facing an unusual challenge ahead of new year’s eve. They are ensuring that Covid-19 SOPs get followed on December 31.
“We registered a very high footfall on December 24 and 25, numbers that even the most optimistic amongst us could not have predicted till last week. To ensure safety of customers and our staff, we are deploying more people to monitor guest behaviour, ensure proper checks at the time of entry, availability of adequate sanitizer and mandatory wearing of masks in the retail floors,” South City Mall vice-president Manmohan Bagree said.
With end-of-season sales being advanced to convert the footfall into revenue, several retailers are doing brisk business. But what’s doing even better at all malls, including South City, Quest, Acropolis and City Centre I and II is food and beverage business. “With the party scene disrupted due to Covid, food courts have emerged as great hangout zones. People are confident about the hygiene and safety protocols followed here, and hence, turning up in good numbers,” said Quest Mall V-P Sanjeev Mehra
.