Warangal: Retail shops go off customer’s radar

Warangal: The comforts that online shopping offers seems to have spelt doom for retail shops. The festive season has seen many customers markedly preferring to not step out of their homes to acquire an object of their fancy.

“With online stores selling almost all the items required, customers are loath to come down to the stores. And it is not possible for us to offer the low prices being offered online, an obvious way to lure customers. Even regular customers who have been shopping with us since years did not turn up this year,” said a stationery shop owner in Hanamkonda, M. Venkateshwarlu.

Online shopping offers immense variety, and not just in apparel, but a wide range of Christmas decorations this year, including festive lights, tree adornments, Jesus figurines, candles, Santa hats, masks and even Christmas trees 8 feet in height.

“We have the freedom to research, compare prices, order and then the item is delivered at the doorstep within a couple of days — and at a cheaper price. We also do not have to worry about opening hours, parking, traffic and other problems that accompany any shopping plan,” said J.M. Jacob, an engineering student. The trend has had many small shops forge a tie-up with online shopping websites to save themselves from going completely out of business —even if it involves sharing the profits.