Rawalpindi: During Eid shopping season, traditional items like ‘mehndi’ and jewellery emerged as the top selling products, despite the economic challenges faced by citizens.
Shopkeepers from the main bazaars of the city told APP that customers were more focused towards traditional shopping including shoe ware, clothing and garments. The first half of the holy month of Ramazan was not active as people were enjoying Sahar and Iftar meals, said Iftekhar a medium scaled shopkeeper of Tench Bhatta Bazar. During the second half of Ramazan, there was an encouraging trend for marketers as people started buying jewellery and gifts, Iftekhar said, adding that in general people were more attracted towards simple dresses and shoes.
Another shopkeeper, Arshad Mahmood said ‘mehndi’, jewellery and beauty items are the items in demand. He said the last ten days of Ramazan can be called as bangles and ‘mehndi’ days as number of people were seen on stalls decorated with these items. Lalkurti, another rich cultured city area, also received increased customers this year. Waqas, also known as Wiqi, informed that he has been selling ‘mehndi’, bangles, and other related items for many years.
He said that he sets up a stall every Ramazan and this year, ‘mehndi’ was his best-selling item. He noted that his customers were mostly females and children who were preparing for Eid. He also mentioned that the prices of shoes and clothing have increased, which has made people more interested in simple yet beautiful and affordable products. Despite this, he was happy to report that he had achieved his sales target easily.
According to a few other vendors at Kamalabad bazaar, ‘mehndi’ is a popular and appealing item that is in demand by females of all ages. Faisal, a shopkeeper running an artificial jewellery shop said that bangles were among the top sold items at his shop during the last ‘Ashra’ of Ramazan. He said solid golden coloured bangles with artificial stones were more in demand than traditional items. Citizens faced difficulties during the shopping process due to heavy traffic jams and a rush of pedestrians, which created chaos on the main roads.
The customers expressed concerns about the mismanagement of markets, unavailability of parking, and the ever-increasing number of encroachments. Despite these issues, they were satisfied with their shopping experience.
