Eid dress sales decline amid economic pressures

Eid-ul-Azha bargain hunters have cut back spending on clothing this Eid season because of economic strains, including an upward inflation trend and increasing commodity prices.

“We are yet to see any massive sales that usually occur ahead of Eid. Major Eid sales take place in the last 10 days ahead of Eid. However, this year, the outlook is not bright at all. Price increases of all products and inflation have forced people to reduce spending,” say traders at Satellite Town Market.

“Retail sales of clothing items have dropped significantly this year compared to the last Eid season. Wholesale sales this year have dropped 30-40% while retail sales have declined 20-30%,” say sellers at Tench Bhatta market.

“Despite our efforts to attract customers with new products and promotions ahead of Eid, there has been a noticeable decline in sales and customer footfall this year. We made huge investments ahead of the Eid season, but fear losses as huge stocks of dresses remain unsold,” says Mohsin Ali a trader at Saddar.

“We do not understand what happened this year. This year the market is rather empty, unlike other years. People are cutting back on spending due to various reasons, including a rise in prices of daily essentials,” says Safeer Abbas at Kamran Market.

“Merchants at Murree Road markets say in previous years they would get close to wrapping up sales. Due to the increase in daily necessity prices, people are prioritising spending on essentials, including food over other items,” says Naseer Naqvi.

“It is not only the middle class and the lower middle class but also the upper-class people who have cut back on spending. The number of customers visiting markets and shopping malls has dropped significantly. Usually ahead of Eid, our markets are very crowded, which has not been the case this year,” said traders.

Usually, clothes from different factories come here. Pajamas, shalwar-kameez, sarees, three-pieces, and pant-pieces are sold here. There are more than 6,500 shops here. This number will exceed 10,000 if the roadside shops are included,” says Saeed Taqi from Raja Bazaar.

“Although non-food inflation has come down slightly according to government data, commoners are still facing the pressure of rising prices of other goods including clothing. Sales at the city’s wholesale clothing markets have also seen a significant decline. Clothes worth crores of rupees are sold at the traditional markets. This time the sales decreased by about 55%,” says Hasan Askari.

Shamsa Zaidi says, “Sales of other items, including shoes, cosmetics, and ornaments have also declined. A sales executive of a shoe market said that although a good number of people are visiting our outlets, sales have been rather less than in other years. A reason may be the increased price of shoes. Cosmetics and ornaments vendors also expressed similar sentiments.”