It was past four p.m. — just a few hours before he shut shop – when Sanjay Bhargava, a cloth retailer at Chandni Chowk, made his first sale for the day.
The customer handed him a debit card, which Mr. Bhargava returned after a swift swipe on his POS machine, barely managing a smile with a polite “thank you”.
“Business is dull. This is not how this market is during peak marriage season,” said Mr. Bhargava, as a couple slowed down outside his showroom, glanced inside with hesitation and ultimately walked on.
Orders being slashed
“The apprehension on the average shopper’s face is visible. People don’t have access to sufficient cash. How can they spend if they don’t have money?” he said.
While retailers like him are getting used to minimal sales, those involved in other trades across Chandni Chowk are slashing large chunks from orders due to their customers’ inability to pay.
“This is the time when the market is chock-a-block with customers bargaining and making the most of the fortnight between now and January, which is when the marriage season resumes. But lack of smaller denominations, especially the Rs.500 notes, has thrown a spanner in commercial activity,” said Mr. Bhargava, who is also the general-secretary of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal.
“Orders are being cancelled or reduced. Recently, a customer asked a prominent confectioner to drop 200 of the 300 boxes of sweets he had asked for. The lack of cash has affected everyone,” he said, adding that he didn’t expect the situation to change in the next three months.
