Businesses see low customer turnout despite curfew relaxation

Despite the relaxation of the curfew, shopping malls in the capital remain devoid of customers, with sellers idly waiting for the buyers.

This trend is mirrored in hotels, restaurants, entertainment centres, and grocery markets, creating significant uncertainty among business owners.

A visit to several shopping malls, grocery markets, and hotels and restaurants in the capital on Friday revealed this situation. Businessmen attributed this to people's fear of unrest.

New Market, typically bustling with crowds, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, was noticeably empty.

Parvez Hossain, a vendor at Noorjahan Shopping Complex in New Market, told TBS, "There are no sales. Even 20% 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% on products. Even then, there are no customers. Sales are at least 70% lower compared to a regular Friday."

Like Bata, most other stores at the mall were almost devoid of customers. Jewellery, cosmetics, and clothing stores also had very few customers and the usually crowded food court of the mall was almost empty yesterday.

Md Shariful Islam, the owner of Chowa Boutique in Dhaka's Rapa Plaza, told TBS, "Business is terrible. There is no one in the market except the shopkeepers. I have not made a single sale in the last three days. At the end of the month, we have to pay employee salaries and shop rent. Where will I get the money if there is no business? We are heading towards a dire situation."

Md Helal Uddin, president of the Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (shop owners association), described the business situation as extremely dire and difficult to describe.

He said, "Many shops have not been able to generate any income for the past 5-7 days. Business has been bad since the beginning of July, and it has deteriorated significantly since mid-July. People are now very cautious about going out. There is a sense of fear and anxiety among people."

He further said that even after the curfew relaxation, the situation has not improved much.

According to the Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity, closing all shops in the country for a single day results in a loss of at least Tk2,000 crore.

Meanwhile, traders in the commodity sector have also reported a decline in customer footfall.

Md Shaon, a wholesale rice trader at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka, told TBS on Friday, "There are no buyers in the rice market. People are not coming. This problem has been ongoing for the past few days. Sales are almost nonexistent."

Babu Miah, a wholesale onion trader, shared similar concerns. He told TBS that there is an adequate supply of onions, but there are fewer buyers. He reported that prices are stable however, sales still remain low.

Imran Hassan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, told TBS that online sales were halted for a few days due to internet outages.

Additionally, the current situation in the country has led to a decline in the number of customers visiting hotels and restaurants. Even after the relaxation of the curfew, sales in restaurants have decreased.

The usual Friday crowd at entertainment parks and facilities in the capital were also lacking yesterday.

Anup Kumar Sarker, executive director of Concord Group and chief coordinator of Bangladesh Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions told TBS, "The parks were reopened on Friday after the curfew relaxation. However, people are not coming. In fact, today (Friday) you could say there is absolutely no one. The business situation is very bad.

The curfew, imposed on July 20, was gradually relaxed, leading to business establishments reopening. However, with low customer turnout, they are struggling.