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"The out-of-date products can be reduced by 50 percent, while new items will only reduced by between 10 percent to 20 percent," Hima said.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)