A little joy at Christmas becomes a hard bargain
As November approaches, cities usually bustle with activity as people prepare for Christmas. Colourful lights and decorations adorn shops and hotels. Vendors and customers are often seen bargaining over prices and products.
Although many shops have already restocked, they are not expecting a massive increase in sales.
“We only sell 60% of what we used to sell before the economic crisis,” remarked Mr. Sabry, 42, an owner of a textile shop for over 20 years, mostly selling cut-piece cloth. He noted that they have been operating with a limited staff.
“When we buy stock now, we must think twice about what we are buying,” he said. Mr. Sabry said that discounts would depend on the demand for textiles.
Mr. Sabry noted that while there used to be a high demand for fancycut pieces of cloth normally decorated with applique patterns and other embellishments, it has reduced significantly. People tend to buy plain cloth pieces because they are more affordable.
“People used to chase quality, but now they chase the price,” commented a 24-year-old who preferred to remain anonymous. He runs his father's shop, Riyas's, which sells retail and wholesale cosmetics. They supply cosmetic items to many salons in Kandy. Although, compared with last year, sales have been better, they are worse than before the economic crisis.
The import restrictions during the COVID-19 epidemic and the economic bankruptcy affected sales. The adverse weather has also affected the transport and delivery of products. New stocks are imported monthly from Dubai, and the depreciation of the rupee has greatly increased their import expenditure.
They plan to offer both retail and wholesale discounts on imported items. “We normally give a 10% to 15% discount on imported goods and on Sri Lankan products if they have offers,” he said.
“There is a lot of competition among shops, and the prices have increased. A T-shirt was about 650 rupees last year, but now it’s 1,300 rupees,” noted Mr. Abdul, the sales manager at a shopping mall in Kandy. He, too, said that there is relatively less demand.
Other challenges faced by businesses include the rising cost of electricity and the inability to increase the prices of items, as that would impact sales even further.
This mall plans to offer discounts of up to 50% in collaboration with banks through credit cards and other payment schemes. While they too imported goods, the forex crisis and import restrictions had deeply impacted them.
“Normally, companies would have various themes and decorations for Christmas, but now it’s just lights, trees, and very minimal decorations, which leaves Colombo looking very bare,” said Bevan Perera, 23, from Kohuwala, a marketer. Christmas is one of his favourite holidays.
For him, the season is associated with carols sung by artists like Jim Reeves, Boney M., and Bing Cosby that bring about the nostalgia of Christmas past.
“Generally, we would visit Pettah to buy ingredients for Christmas cake by mid-November and other decorations, but this year the holiday just feels different.”
Buying gifts for friends and relatives is a tradition for many. While there was an ease with which people bought gifts before the economic crisis, now they often think twice because the cost of living has skyrocketed.
“We have prepared a theme for decorations this year, and the tree will go up as usual along with the meal and carols.” Despite the economic crisis, Mr. Perera and his family hope to celebrate Christmas.
“We used to give our neighbours Christmas cake, and last year we switched to butter cake. I am not sure if we are even making cake this year,” noted Rachita, 23, an English undergraduate from Wellawatte. Her family of four depends on her father, and her brother contributes to household expenses as well.
During the festival season, they paint their house and buy new covers for the furniture. They also buy new clothes, gifts for relatives, and firecrackers. However, they have had to make drastic changes in purchases. “We buy less clothes, and we don’t buy firecrackers anymore. Even when it comes to painting the house, we are only doing patchwork in essential areas,” she added.
They have also reduced their general consumption and believe that the anticipated price increases and taxes will lead to a further reduction.
“We usually invite our extended family over for Christmas lunch; now it is just our family,” said Nirma Fernando, a 51-year-old mother of three children aged 16 years, 17 years, and 22 years, living in Moratuwa. Their Christmas traditions included making Christmas cake, love cake, and ginger wine. However, they have had to cut down on many festivities.
The family of five depends on the income of her husband, and with the rising costs of living, she noted that it does not feel like a celebration anymore. “It is a time of unity and kindness, and we try to help others who are struggling around us.’’
Ms. Fernando recalled memories from years ago when the family would go shopping on multiple days. “We used to buy so many clothes and gifts because we had more money to spend, but now we struggle to buy the essentials.”