The reflection of the recession in the economy can be seen in the city markets as shopkeepers report relatively low footfalls in the festive season

With the stock market dipping down, this year Diwali does not seem to have brought the usual smile to the shopkeepers in the city. Although being the season that brings a boom in most businesses, retailers feel that this Diwali the brunt of economic recession has hampered their sales to quite an extent.

"Diwali is the peak time for the sales of garments, clothing, electronic goods and even precious metal, and even an average buyer adds this expenditure to his budget. But this year, the sale suggests that the business is going through a bad phase in every market," says Bharat Ranka, of National Fabrics on M G Road. "Even though people are buying new clothes, the business has slid down heavily. It is almost 40 per cent less compared to the sales of last year," he says.

"The boom of festive season seems to have slacked as sales are just like any other ordinary day," says Smita, owner of an artifacts shop in Camp, who blames the slump in economy for the depletion of business in the various stores. "We feel that it's the recession in overall economy that has affected the purchasing power of the people which in turn has affected business everywhere," she adds. "In comparison to the number of buyers that we had last year, this time we have less footfalls. Sales are not very good during Diwali season," says Feroz Sheikh, sales manager, Hiroli's Nazakat and Larry Aanandani of Royal Lady garments in Clover Centre.

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