PANAJI
The garment shops in Panaji seemed to be struggling to get customers just a day before the auspicious festival.
An owner of a major garment store in heart of Panaji, on the condition of anonymity, said, "We are offering 30% discount, but business on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi this year is only half of last year's business"
People attributed a number of reasons for this. Some said it is due to the rolling out of GST, which has made it difficult for people to do business without issuing a bill. Some even complained that last year's demonetisation is still affecting the market.
Whatever the reason, it was clear that the response of shoppers this year on Ganesh Chaturthi's eve was not comparable to earlier years. Even in the evening of August 24 in Panaji Municipal market, only shops selling decorative items were getting a lot of customers.
An owner of a confectionery store in Panaji said, "Business is below average this year because people are moving away from sweets due to fear of diseases like diabetes. Even otherwise business isn't good this time."
The prices of mobile-phones haven't changed significantly after the implementation of GST. But, mobile phone retailers had mixed response on Ganesh Chaturthi's eve. Vishal Lobo, owner, Digital World, said, "We got same response from customers on August 24 as we get otherwise. No significant uptick was seen in sales."
However, the manager of Big Little Collection (retailer of mobile phones and accessories), said, "We did better business throughout this week compared to last week. I think more people buy mobile-phones just before Ganesh Chaturthi, as it is a festive occasion."
Sources also said that below average response of shoppers could be due to absence of major discounts in the market.
The garment shops in Panaji seemed to be struggling to get customers just a day before the auspicious festival.
An owner of a major garment store in heart of Panaji, on the condition of anonymity, said, "We are offering 30% discount, but business on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi this year is only half of last year's business"
People attributed a number of reasons for this. Some said it is due to the rolling out of GST, which has made it difficult for people to do business without issuing a bill. Some even complained that last year's demonetisation is still affecting the market.
Whatever the reason, it was clear that the response of shoppers this year on Ganesh Chaturthi's eve was not comparable to earlier years. Even in the evening of August 24 in Panaji Municipal market, only shops selling decorative items were getting a lot of customers.
An owner of a confectionery store in Panaji said, "Business is below average this year because people are moving away from sweets due to fear of diseases like diabetes. Even otherwise business isn't good this time."
The prices of mobile-phones haven't changed significantly after the implementation of GST. But, mobile phone retailers had mixed response on Ganesh Chaturthi's eve. Vishal Lobo, owner, Digital World, said, "We got same response from customers on August 24 as we get otherwise. No significant uptick was seen in sales."
However, the manager of Big Little Collection (retailer of mobile phones and accessories), said, "We did better business throughout this week compared to last week. I think more people buy mobile-phones just before Ganesh Chaturthi, as it is a festive occasion."
Sources also said that below average response of shoppers could be due to absence of major discounts in the market.
