In a time of elevated inflation, Asmaul Hosna, 37, a mother of three kids, who went to Mouchak Market in the capital, for shopping ahead of Eid-ul-Azha failed to buy anything for her elder son on Monday due to a shortage of money.
Inflation triggers a general rise in prices that results in a decline in purchasing power of money which is also a loss of real value in the domestic medium of exchange. Under such circumstances, it is obvious that one group will always pay the price for inflation or bear the burden of increasing costs and those are mainly working people and lower wage earners.
“My husband, who is a private job holder, gave me Tk 2000 to purchase clothes and footwear for my two sons and daughter. But with this money, I only could manage to buy cloth and footwear for my two children and now I’m returning home without purchasing anything for my elder son,” she said.
The prices of almost every product went up abnormally compared to last year, she said, adding that “We have to pay whatever the sellers demand.”
Shamsul Haque, an Auto driver in the Demra area, said he won’t purchase any cloth or footwear for his children during this Eid. “Currently, it is very hard to bear the family costs. All my income goes away to buy daily essentials including rice, soybean, lentil and vegetables. Besides, the education costs of children have also increased vastly. How I can buy anything for my kids ahead of the Eid?” he explained.
According to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate was 9.94 per cent in May which was 7.42 per cent in the same corresponding period in 2022.
Besides, in the face of a soaring cost of living, many low and middle-income have either ditched branded products or switched to smaller packs, causing consumer goods producers and marketers to record a slowdown in sales.
Talking to The Business Post, the Manager of SaRa Lifestyle Ltd, Mohammad Taibur Rahman, said “We have 7,206 style products in our outlet. Our SaRa Lifestyle is a sister concern of Snowtex Group. Our products are comparatively better than others.”
Although we are getting a good number of customers but not enough as per our expectations. As a result, we are offering up to 25 per cent discount on selected products to attract more customers”, he added.
Taibur informed that they have 200 styles of Panjabi at their Bashabo outlet. Panjabi, shirts, denim pants, and kid goods are among the demandable items, but, they are witnessing lower sales of apparel in Eid-ul-Azha compared to Eid-ul-Fitr.
“SaRa Lifestyle is offering Polo t-shirts at Tk 890, denim pants between Tk 750 to Tk 1950, chino pants between Tk 590 to Tk2450, casual shirts from Tk 890 to Tk 3490 and salwar-kamij at Tk 4,890.” he also informed.
Another apparel brand Foring Ltd was also offering a 50 per cent discount on selected products including Panjabi and Pant. Its Manager Harunur Rashid said “Our sales have dropped significantly as general people are going through a tough time due to high inflation. The country’s economic condition struggling so our business is on the wane” he stated.
Stall Manager of Apex Footwear Limited Mohammad Rahmatullah told The Business Post that their sale is good but it will be tough to fulfil their target.
“Our company has set a target considering the last year’s sales. It will be very tough to fulfil the target this year. We are offering a 10 per cent discount through Bkash payments”, Rahmatullah said.
Now, the demand for our baby footwear between Tk 690 to Tk 1,590, ladies items between Tk 1,290 to Tk 2,000 and gents items between Tk 800 to Tk 4,000 are high among customers,” he also said.
Despite the demands for zero to five years, children are very good. But, they are witnessing low sales during Eid-ul-Azha, said in-charge of Mom and Baby Fashion, Mohiudin Ahmed. “Actually, the rising price of essentials has impacted the buyers negatively,” he opined.
