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Festive accessories fade, sweet sales make a splash ahead of Holi in Chandigarh
This year, Chandigarh is recording a subdued shopping season, with retailers reporting lower-than-expected sales in terms of Holi accessories.
With the festival of colours right around the corner, the tricity is immersed in Holi celebrations, but it’s a different story at the shopkeepers’ end.
This year, the city is recording a subdued shopping season, with retailers reporting lower-than-expected sales in terms of Holi accessories. Despite introducing an array of innovative and attractive products, such as movie-themed water guns, cricket-themed accessories, water gun goggles, colourful wigs and face masks, demand for these goods has remained dull.
However, while sales of Holi accessories have been underwhelming, sweet shops are thriving, with gujiya emerging as the top choice of the season.
The demand for sweets, particularly gujiya, jalebi and imartis, is soaring, much to sweet shop owners’ delight.
Retailers had hoped that trend-based water guns, featuring items such as Pushpa’s axe, KGF’s hammer and Thor’s hammer, would attract shoppers, especially children and cinema fans. For cricket enthusiasts, water guns with Indian cricket team motifs were also brought in. However, many customers have already purchased these items online, leaving physical shops with unsold stock, say retailers.
“We stocked these trendy water guns, expecting them to drive sales, but many people have already bought them from online platforms,” Pushpinder, a retailer in Mohali, shared.
Ishu, a retailer from Chandigarh’s Sector 15, explained how changing shopping habits post-COVID have impacted footfall. “Since the pandemic, many buyers prefer the convenience of online shopping, especially for water guns and colours. Still, some customers prefer the traditional way of shopping, where they visit our store, inspect the texture of gulal and only then make their purchase. This personal touch and trust in quality are something online shopping can’t replace,” he said.
The timing of Holi this year, falling on a weekend just before a series of holidays, has also contributed to the decline in retail sales.
Manoj Bansal, president of the Sector 15-C Market, noted that fewer customers visited the market as many students and working professionals living in the sector and its vicinity had returned to their hometowns.
“The absence of out-of-town students and professionals, who typically flock to the markets, has significantly reduced customer footfall. The rise of online shopping has also contributed to fewer people visiting local shops,” Bansal said.
Meanwhile, even the demand for colours has remained moderate. But Silk Gulal has gained popularity due to its fine texture and skin-friendly qualities.
In contrast, sweet shops across tricity have been overwhelmed with customers eager to purchase traditional Holi treats. “Sweet sales have been exceptional and demand for gujiya is particularly high. We anticipated this trend, which is why we have a wide variety of gujiya in stock. Our workers are still busy preparing and selling them,” said Sagar Sodhi, a sweet shop owner in Mohali.
