The capital’s malls are empty of shoppers despite the curfew being loosened, and vendors are only waiting for customers. There is a great deal of concern among business owners as a result of this tendency, which is mirrored in dining establishments, retail stores, hotels, and entertainment venues.
This was discovered on Friday during a tour of a number of the capital’s retail centres, supermarkets, lodging facilities, and dining establishments. Businessmen explained this away as people being afraid of turmoil. Usually crowded, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, New Market was unusually deserted.
Parvez Hossain, a vendor at Noorjahan Shopping Complex in New Market, told local media, “There are no sales. Even 20 per cent of the usual sales are not happening. People are not coming out due to fear of the situation. There are no sales at all, even on a Friday. This situation has been going on for the past few days.”
Adilur Rahman, the manager of Bata’s Basundhara City Shopping Mall outlet, said, “We have an annual stock clearance offer going on. There is a discount of up to 20-50 per cent on products. Even then, there are no customers. Sales are at least 70 per cent lower compared to a regular Friday.”
Similar to Bata, virtually no one was in any of the other mall stores. The mall’s usually bustling food court was nearly empty on Friday, while the jewellery, cosmetics, and apparel businesses saw very few patrons.
The Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity claims that a single day of store closures across the nation costs at least Taka 2,000 crore. After the curfew was progressively lifted on 20th July, businesses were able to reopen. However, they are having trouble because of the low client turnout.
