UNLOCK BRINGS BOOMING BUSINESS FOR BOUTIQUES
Unlock 3.0 has certainly brought more shoppers back on the streets. Yet, as denizens venture out to shop for their favourite outfits, most are taking more precautions than necessary, and are opting for boutiques and tailors, over retail outlets and showrooms.
“I always preferred to buy readymade dresses. But, in these corona times, I have become skeptical and there are various reasons. First is that others would have tried the same dress, and it could have been touched, handled by various people. So, when there came up a wedding to attend, I got all my dresses stitched,” says Sakshi Goyal from Faridabad.
Indeed dealing with a festive rush, boutiques, too, are operating with all safety precautions in place. “Since we reopened, the number of orders have increased while the footfall of clientele has decreased. Hardly any customer prefers to visit the store as most are in touch with me on Whatsapp,” says Meenu, who runs a boutique in Faridabad. She also informs that all ‘karigars’ at her store strictly wear masks and keep their equipments sanitised. “Even carry bags undergo sanitisation, before being handed over to the customers,” she adds.
Many clients are even using video calling apps to check for latest designs and patterns, before ordering. Kavita Gupta, owner of a Delhi-based boutique says, “People are ordering dresses through video conferencing and other virtual mediums. We show them the trending patterns and designs and they book it on the call.”