People flack to shopping centers for holiday needs
People flack to shopping centers for holiday needs
JAKARTA (JP): People began flooding shopping centers for their
Idul Fitri celebration needs as early as three weeks ago.
During the shopping spree, stores could almost double their
incomes as the number of buyers sharply increased, said a
salesperson at the Esprit boutique in the Pondok Indah Mall,
South Jakarta.
"We earned about Rp 17 million in total sales a day in the
last couple of days. Our daily total sales are just around Rp 4
million," said Dahoni. Esprit's products are casual clothes with
a T-shirt at Rp 55,000 the cheapest item.
Dahoni said the number of shoppers, most are young aged
between 17 and 20 years, had increased to about one hundred
people a day in the past seven days.
A shoe store at the Pondok Indah Mall, Linea, doubled its
total sales to 40 pairs a day during the season.
Most retailers gave discounts, from 10 percent to 60 percent,
during the shopping season to attract more customers.
Suryani, a housemaid for a family in West Jakarta, said she
only shopped at stores offering discounts.
"I bought a batik shirt, sandals and a sarong for my father, a
dress for my mother, clothes for my sisters, and a dress for
myself," she said. She spent all her monthly wage of Rp 150,000
shopping at the Blok M Mall, South Jakarta, two weeks ago.
The discounts depend on the quality and age of the items, said
a salesperson at Ramayana department store in Blok M.
"The out-of-date products can be reduced by 50 percent, while
new items will only reduced by between 10 percent to 20 percent,"
Hima said.
However, discounts are not the only reason people rush to the
stores. Some people buy things simply because they need to.
Cindy, a distribution manager for an apparel manufacturer and
exporter in Jakarta, said she did her pre-Lebaran (Idul Fitri)
shopping two weeks ago at Taman Anggrek Mall in West Jakarta.
She always sets aside some money for the Lebaran shopping
which can double the usual monthly-shopping budget. "I go to the
stores specially to buy clothes for my daughter and some other
stuffs to prepare for Idul Fitri," she said.
Nia, secretary to a Germany government-owned non-profit
company in Jakarta, said she was not really fond of shopping.
"Even if I go to the store, I only buy something for my
parents or look for some clothes for work, not for Idul Fitri.
I'm not a kid anymore," she said. (04)