After two years of subdued celebrations, Guwahatians have geared up for a grand festive season. Fancy Bazar, the shopping hub of Guwahati, has been witnessing a massive crowd over the past few days, and it is only increasing as the days for festivities are nearing. From shops to street vendors, almost every establishment is crowded.

Though puja is happening with drum rolls after two years in Guwahati without any curfews and restrictions, shop owners of Fancy Bazar have claimed that sales are far below expectation.

A shop owner in Fancy Bazar said, “Though you can see the crowd, only a handful of customers are actually buying since they all want prices cheaper than online.”

They are worried that the offline market has gradually been taken over by e-commerce platforms. "Nowadays online is the preferred mode of shopping. Many usually come to shop from us when there is an urgent need and expect similar prices as offered online or even less. It is getting difficult to sustain," most shopkeepers opined.

A shopkeeper selling western outfits said, “Before the pandemic, our per day sales used to hit Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000 but for the past two years we have struggled to pay the rent. We expected the sales to reach Rs.50,000 at the very least this year since celebrations this year are visibly grand. But the sales have been very low and every day we are doing sales of only Rs.20,000.”

A few young customers when asked said, "We have already ordered most of the things online during the Festive Sale. Online platforms are offering a lot of good collections to choose from and the prices are attractive as well. We are here for just knick-knacks."

The owner of a famous traditional garment store said, "The purchasing capacity of people has decreased. With such high prices for even the essentials, people have much less to spend. This year, most of our customers are looking for sarees in the medium price range. We have a good collection in the expensive range as well, but the demand is almost next to none. Our sales have reduced by almost 40 percent.”

Many shop owners were also furious about the offers and said that the online platforms could have offered their sales during the non-festive season rather than festive season since they get to sell their stocks mostly during the festive season.

Overall the Puja Market of Fancy Bazar is still yet to thrive and is still coping with the losses of the past two years of lockdown.

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