Tight wishlist

KOCHI: The city buzzed with festive fervour as people rushed to markets to make last-minute purchases on Friday. People of all age groups were seen demanding, selecting and bargaining for their picks at shops across the city. As most children found their way to cracker stores, many professionals as well as homemakers crowded markets in Ernakulam, Kaloor and Marad bagging fresh fruits, vegetables and grocery items.However, according to most shopkeepers, compared to last year, this year’s Vishu businesses were not as bright as expected. Kerala Merchants’ Union secretary K A Shaji said that last time, the rush began almost a week in advance of Vishu.“Last year, the city was bustling with people buying vegetables, grocery, crackers and clothes. However, this year, the number of people shelling out money for last-minute shopping is comparatively low and so is the volume of shopping.  Most people have been asking for almost everything that is needed during Vishu, but they had been cutting down on the quantity. Even textile and grocery shops are missing the rush,” he said.Shaji said that the merchants had enough stocks as festive seasons are the time for business. “There is no shortage of anything in the market. However, the prices of vegetables and other commodities are high,” he said. Meanwhile, the vegetable markets were crowded as people had no other choice but buy them despite high prices. Even big supermarkets like Reliance Fresh were disappointed by scattered crowds. “Last year, we had a good business during Vishu. Expecting the same, this year we had stocked up everything, but the crowd is like that of any other day,” said a Reliance Fresh staff.Exceptionally, Consumerfed outlets saw some good number people queuing up for provisions. Consumerfed managing director Riji Nair said that their sales had gone up and that they surpassed the target of last year.“As we have special subsidies for Easter and Vishu, we saw a good rush at our stores,” he said.