Winterwear sales dip at city stores

Ranchi: Winter apparel stores here in the capital, including the annual makeshift Tibetan potala market, are witnessing plummeting sales this year due a change in buyers’ taste and a stiff competition from online shopping platforms.
The Tibetan market, which until the pre-Covid times saw a heavy footfall of buyers, is struggling to find customers.
Tenzin Nyandak, a shopkeeper at the market from Uttarakhand, said: "Online shopping apps and websites have damaged our business to a large extent. I am a third generation seller at this market. I have been coming to Ranchi for years now. But this year, we have been struggling a lot to make good business. We believe that this happened due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic when people got accustomed to buying everything online.”
Shopkeepers of the regular stores also echoed similar views. Sachin Gupta, who has been running a garment shop in Rajendra Chowk for over 20 years, said: “Earlier, we used to see a rush of customers for winter clothes from September to March. But this year, our business has been affected by online shopping apps and other such mediums. They increase the MRP and then claim to offer big discounts to attract customers."
The customers also voted for online shopping for its convenience and huge stock of products.
Shalini Khanna, a city resident, said: “In online shopping, you get huge discounts. Also, there is a huge variety of products with different colours and designs. But in regular stores, there is hardly any variety and you have to cough out more money for the same old type of products and designs. Therefore, I prefer to check garments online and order on my favourite websites."
Jawaharlal Arora, owner of a 27-year-old store of woollens at the Daily Market here, said: "Even till five years ago, people used to buy wool. But now hardly anyone knits at home, instead they buy ready-made woollens online. This year, there have been days when we have not seen a single customer looking for a yarn of wool in the store."
Tashi, a vendor from Nepal, said: “Youngsters look for sweatshirts, hoodies, stylish blazers and jackets over traditional sweaters. Only the elderly are choosing sweaters and shawls these days."