City shopping centres abuzz with customers

Different shopping centres in the capital were abuzz with customers on Friday, as the holy Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the major religious festivals of Muslim community, is drawing nearer.

People from all strata of society crowded shops and footpath markets to buy their desired items.

However, shoppers said prices of Eid items have been increased slightly this year comparing to the previous years' while traders identified costlier sourcing and operational expenditure for the hike.

During visits to several shopping hubs, including Bashundhara City, Aziz Super Market, Elephant Road and Mouchak Market, FE correspondents found that most of the outlets were seen packed with customers looking for Punjabis, three-pieces, kids wear, footwear and accessories.

A shopper, Mahmudul Hasan, who came to Bashundhara City with his spouse and kids, said he was considering Friday as the last public holiday before the Eid as he was planning to leave Dhaka earlier to enjoy the holiday.

"I'll leave Dhaka on Tuesday evening for my village home. Now, I have to buy new dresses for elderly parents and close ones," he also said.

Large crowds of customers have made shopping difficult as it was difficult to look for a dress and doing a trial, Hasan added.

However, a cloudy environment has given some respite from the prevailing heat wave for the last couple of days.

Ilias Ali, a trader at Aziz Super Market, said their sales boosted several times, thanks to the overall favourable situation in the country.

"I think after a continuous hike of essentials for the last years, there are some sorts of respite from inflationary pressure this year," he said, explaining that this helped many buyers spend more on Eid shopping.

Mouchak Market, highly popular for budget-friendly items, witnessed a sea of Eid shoppers on Friday.

The shops sell a variety of fashion items, including sarees, three-piece suits, burka, veils and jewellery.

Hanufa Akhtar, a housewife who came to Mouchak Market with her husband, bought a pair of gold rings for her daughter.

"It's almost out of the middle class to afford to buy gold jewellery as per bhori hit an all-time high now. So, we buy this time fearing a higher price in the coming days."

A gold shop owner said people visit their shops as they offer some discounts.

Moreover, they have comparatively low budget items which they believe push middle class earners to visit their shops outside big shopping malls.

Other shopping malls near the areas have arranged clothes for children, women and men of various designs and quality.

The floating shops on the sidewalks, a large gathering of various Eid clothes were seen.

Meanwhile, some shoppers were seen visiting shops in residential areas like in the DIT Project in Merul Badda area where some export fashion shops see growing customers.

"We sell fashion items of global brands from local garments that were somehow rejected by buyers. Having low prices these good quality products attract a certain group of customers," said Shafiq Ahmed, a shop owner.

Law enforcement agencies have taken all-out measures so that buyers can shop here comfortably.

Temporary information and service centres of police and army have been set up to ensure customers' security at New Market.

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