Shopowners witnessed dull business amid the thin presence of customers on Sunday as markets were allowed to start trading from the day.
Traders attributed low transactions to suspension of public transports, rising fear of Covid infection as well as decline in income of people.
However, the government later on Sunday allowed shopping malls to keep open until 9:00 pm instead of 5:00 pm to prevent a heavy crowd of people.
After April 13, Mazid Sarker opened his cloth shop on Sunday on the third floor of Gausia Market in the city's New Market area.
Sarker said he got only six customers until 3:00 pm on the day and made a sale of Tk 3400 during the period.
"During normal time, we make business of minimum Tk 0.1 million after 10th Ramadan," he said, adding that people from distant places were avoiding coming to markets due to a lack of suitable transport.
Md Mohsin, manager of Joya Sharees at Karnaphuli Garden City Shopping Complex in Shantinagar area said, "We took all preparations to serve the customers ahead of Eid with new collections but their presence was thin due to the coronavirus situation."
Referring to maintaining of strict health guidelines as instructed by shop owners association he said, "People usually do their shopping after Iftar during Ramadan but the government asked us to shut the store by 5:00 pm. We hope that customers will start coming to our market within a next couple of days."
Badol Rahman, a shop owner at Chandrima Market adjacent to New Market, said young people are key customers of his shop.
He said the number of such customers declined by 60-70 per cent in the last one year amid the closure of all universities and colleges.
Many of the students who were residing in Dhaka, despite the closure, also left the city in good numbers following the lockdown causing a further fall in business, he said.
A good number of people have left the city before the start of 'strict lockdown' from April 14 which was also responsible for low sale.
Sarwar Ahmed, a salesperson of Maples at Twin Tower Concord Shopping Complex at Shantinagar, said the owner of the clothing outlet halved the number of salespersons this year to cut cost as business was not going well.
"We don't know what will happen this year but we hope people will come to shop during the last week of Ramadan," he added.
Talking to the FE, Chairman of Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (shop owners' association) Md Helal Uddin said shopping malls should be allowed to remain open for a longer period to avoid excessive crowd.
"If shopping hours are limited, many people may not come fearing crowd while shop owners will also miss the last chance to sell some products to keep their business going through the pandemic."
He also said the business wouldn't be like every other year due to the pandemic but the number of customers would increase gradually before Eid.
The purchasing capacity of many people has also declined which might impact trade, he added.
President of Bangladesh Dressmakers' Association, a platform of local fashion houses, Md Abul Kalam Azad said usually people come to shops after Iftar during the month of Ramadan, but due to the pandemic the government earlier asked to keep the shops open till 5:00 pm which was a reason for the low presence of customers today (Sunday).
Business may increase from Monday as shops and markets would remain open until 9 pm, he said.
Whether there is business or not, shop owners need to pay rents, utility bills and salary of salespersons, tailors and designers, he said, adding: "We already missed opportunity of Tk 20 billion business during Pahela Baishakh."
He added: "If we miss the Eid season this year, total loss of business may cross Tk 50 billion."
However, the number of shoppers was increasing to some extent in wholesale markets like Islampur, Chawkbazar, Chadnichawk in the afternoon, said traders.
Rickshaws, CNG-run auto-rickshaws, private cars and motorbikes of share-riders, human-run vans, microbuses and bicycles were key vehicles on the city roads on the day.
The number of people on the streets increased notably amid the opening of shops and malls while many of the passengers faced difficulties in getting vehicles to go home in the evening amid suspension of public transports.
bdnews24.com adds: Shopping malls and stores in Dhaka will be allowed to remain open until 9pm if they adhere to the coronavirus health rules.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Sunday revised the notice on the shopping hours amid a lockdown to stem the surging outbreak.
The authorities took the decision taking into account the "overall situation", said Md Munibur Rahman, an additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
They also decided to allow public transport from Apr 29, he added.
Malls and stores were allowed to reopen on Sunday amid the nationwide lockdown with shopping hours from 10am to 5pm every day.
The government on Friday allowed the reopening of the malls and stores from Sunday and instructed the shop owners to maintain "strict" health rules.
The notice took into account the lives and livelihoods of the people employed in the sector.
Some markets in parts of Dhaka reopened and others decided to remain closed on Sunday morning. Some small clothing traders did set up shops outside the closed markets.
Only a few customers have shown up.
The second phase of a stricter lockdown, enforced since Apr 14 to curb the spread of coronavirus infections, will continue until Apr 28.
