Arenjungla Kichu
Mokokchung, January 20 (MTN): Restrictions imposed during the pandemic have directly affected numerous businesses in the town. A survey by Mokokchung Times found over 50% decline in sales and profits in about 80% of the clothing stores at MMC shopping complex. There are about 150 stores in the complex with clothing stores mainly dominating the space.
The retailers claimed that booming of online services during pandemic have adversely affected their businesses. The retailers shared their worries of losing more customers which in return will force them to either shut down or sell off their business.
“People often purchases online goods because of cheaper price, engaging and exciting offers and combos”, Tiatola, a retailer in MMC complex for the past 15 years shared her concern. She, like many, urged buyers to understand that cheaper goods found online often comes with poorer quality. “The only way for our business to grow is to stop the online services in the town,” she said, which is a general sentiment shared among the retailers but may not be a possibility.
According to the manager of Delhivery Limited, Mokokchung branch, the average order their courier service alone receives in a day is around 600 packages which shows enormous dependency of Mokokchung citizens on online commerce. Akumla, a frequent purchaser of online products opines that online purchases are more flexible and easier as it gives more choices to customers. “It’s simply not just the cost. Sometimes we go out for shopping in markets but most of the time we return without getting hold of the things we want and I believe that is often a waste of time,” she explained.
In recent times, many business establishments and firms have shut down having failed to recover from the loses caused by the pandemic. In a sincere appeal, one of the retailers asked, “Will it not be better to support the sellers in Mokokchung rather than sending our resources outside the state?”