Sales of goods drop, currency crunch & online shopping blamed

SHILLONG: Demonetisation has taken a toll on the sale of goods and services in the city market even as Christmas is just a week away.
Shankar, one of the salesmen at Babla’s Shoppe, a garment store in Police Bazar, said that their sales have gone down by almost 50 percent as people are not able to withdraw money from banks.
A hawker who sells shoes in Police Bazar also echoed similar thoughts saying that sale is greatly affected due to the ongoing demonetisation. “We are not sure if the market would be good in the next week as people still suffer due to the issue of notes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the flow of tourist to Shillong during the festive season is yet to pick up. Hotels in Shillong, which usually remain jam packed during this time of the year, is seeing a downward trend this year.
The owner of Eden Residency said this year, there are only a handful of tourists even though it is the peak season and said that currency crunch is the reason behind minimal flow of tourists this year.
On the other hand, a representative of Woodlands Shoes Store, however, gave a contrasting picture and said that sale is quite good at the store as people are using their ATM and debit cards for purchase.
In addition, price sensitive customers are switching to online shopping resulting in low sales even during the festive season.