Eleventh-hour shopping reached a feverish pitch at textile showrooms and sweet shops in the city on Friday. Available space in the outlets were occupied and people had a tough time completing transactions. Though entry of vehicles into market place was stopped, the heavy rush of shoppers caused slowness in movement.
It has been a practice for buyers to make purchases on festival eve in anticipation of last-minute discounts by the sellers. But, there was no such indication.
Some textile shops, however, offered coupons for discounted purchase over a few days duration a week after the festival.
The crowd was heavy at shops catering to all sections of buyers.
Be it the Gani Market or the high-end textile showrooms, the turnout was commonly large.
Parking slots provided at a few schools surrounding the market place necessitated the people to walk for considerable distances. At very many showrooms, the workers were seen wearing new uniforms.
Crowds thronged the umpteen sweet stalls and bakeries selling sweet items. Competition heated up in the sweet business with entry of more number of established players only days before the festival.
Chennai and Coimbatore-based enterprises are ruling the roost in sweet business in Erode district, though a handful of local brands also made brisk business. Though sweets were sold for amounts ranging from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1,000 per kg, depending on the variety and the brand, there was no dearth of buyers. Assorted sweets sold in packets were off the shelves before sunset.
According to Varadarajan, a buyer, sweet shops receive overwhelming patronage during festival time has increased over the years due to the varieties on offer and the quality consciousness of mainstream players owing to stiff competitions.
