Eid shopping at peak: Malls in city abuzz with shoppers

People of the capital spent most of the time yesterday shopping for their loved ones as it was the last weekend before the Eid-ul-Fitr.

Salespersons of the city's shopping malls--top and bottom ends--had a tough time coping with the rush of customers.

"Shoppers are arriving in large numbers at a time," said Rubel Ahmed, a salesperson at Fashion Club of Dhaka's popular shopping spot New Market.

"The time for Eid shopping is running out fast and with it more and more people are thronging the malls," he said.

Markets for clothes, footwear, cosmetics, jewelry and electronic gadgets witnessed a good sale yesterday.

"I am almost done shopping. Today I have bought clothes for my relatives in the village," said Rezaul Haque, a government official who with his son came to shop at New Market from Mirpur-1.

The malls generally see a rush in the weekends. Quiet Fridays hence become the busiest days during the Ramadan both for shoppers and salespersons.

"I have come to Bashundhara City to buy panjabis, lungis and saris for my parents because today is the last Friday before Eid, said Ziaur Rahman, a management trainee at Prime Bank.

Ziaur was looking forward to finishing his shopping by yesterday since he would not get time later. He plans to spend his holidays with his parents in Satkhira and spend all his Eid bonus on shopping for family.

Shoppers also crowded footwear markets in thousands to buy trendy shoes to brighten up the Eid celebration even more. They were not disappointed as the footwear houses came up with new collections of local shoes for fashion conscious buyers.

"We have brought around 300 new designs for this Eid, so that customers can choose from a wide range of collection," said a salesperson of Bata at Elephant Road.

Traders said local shoes are gaining popularity, as they are good in quality and come at reasonable prices.

Female shoppers also thronged the cosmetic and imitated jewelry shops.

"I came to market to buy a pair of earrings to match my Eid dress," said college student Shaharin Sultana. She said she bought a pair of earring for Tk 300 from New Market.

The city's electronic gadget market, especially of cellphones, also witnessed a huge number of customers.

Salesperson Jamal Hossain of MM Telecom at Motalib Plaza said, "There is a huge demand for low-priced mobile phone sets. Most customers are buying China-made sets because they come at comparatively reasonable prices.

However, most sellers said the appearance of customers this Friday was thin compared to that of the last because many people have already left Dhaka for celebrating Eid in villages.

Source : The Daily Star