The trend of the people opting increasingly for the online shopping sites which are offering lucrative discounts on products they sell online has landed the small and medium scale traders who sell utensils on the occasion of Dhanteras in deep trouble.
Sale plummeting, the small traders, in particular, have sounded puzzled over this suden change. "I am still perplexed why the number of customers has come down so drastically during Dhanteras this year. We are in a state of shock as we expect much of profit during this time of the year when the volume of sale peaks," said a small trader doing business from a shop for around thirty years.
Many online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and the like have introduced exciting and attracting discounts on electronics and branded utensils, leading to the people to get hooked on these sites.
"We are happy with the attractive discount offers these online shopping sites are offering. This not just saved much of our festival budget but spared us the trouble of going to the shops to buy the essentials for the festivities," said a middle- class homemaker.
Vijay Kumar, owner of Ayush Bartan Bhandar, said that this time the sale has halved as compared to the previous year. "True, prices of the utensils have by 10- 20 percent. But this can hardly account for the situation we faced. last year, we sold utensils worth Rs 2.5 lakh, but this year it is barely Rs 1 lakh. If this trend continues it would prove difficult for us to survive, for the maximum profit we earn during this time of festivities," he added.
Another utensil trader Mukesh Bharti based at Araghar in the city echoed the same despondency, saying that the online sites are to blame for the decline in their trade.