Some shops see brisk business in the lead-up to Hari Raya

SINGAPORE: With Hari Raya around the corner, some stall owners are seeing brisk business with the rush from last-minute shoppers pushing sales up by about 50 per cent.

But not all tills are ringing, as some sellers continue to have low sales despite giving discounts.

One firm, Mdm Ling Bakery, decided to open a temporary physical booth beyond its online store during the last days leading to the festival and is reaping some rewards. 

At its stall in Tampines Mall from Apr 3 to 9, it has seen a 15 per cent increase in sales compared to the same period last year. The firm did not open in-person stalls for Hari Raya last year.

The hope is to capture a new market, said Mr Nickie Heng, booth leader from Mdm Ling Bakery.

“We wanted to target the last-minute shoppers so they can come down and sample our delicious cookies and then interact with us,” he said. 

He added that he expects that sales will continue to improve.

Marisa Halal Tidbits, which also has a booth in Tampiness Mall, is similarly experiencing higher footfall this year as a result of many non-Muslim customers snapping up cookies as gifts for their friends, said its owner.

Apart from food vendors, some clothes sellers are also enjoying good festive sales this year. Among them is RH Fashion at Joo Chiat Complex, which has been serving customers for close to 30 years. 

Owner Bibiq, who goes by one name, attributed its success to keeping up with the times.

"We have our loyal customers from last time. So it's very important that you keep up with the trend, with the fashion, with the styling and all. You got to do lots and lots of homework,” she said. 

Over the last Ramadan weekend, she had to keep her shop open till 1am to accommodate visitors, she added. 

Some shoppers CNA spoke to said prices are up by about 10 per cent from last year, but they did not mind spending a bit more on the annual celebrations. Some understood that steeper prices were due to the Goods and Services Tax hike that kicked in this year. 

"It's a yearly event, so we don't want to be stingy. We will just buy whatever we want. Life is short,” said one celebrant.

However, some firms are struggling despite the generous mood of customers.

Profits at Zeeshan Impex, which sells traditional baju kurung outfits, are down about 20 per cent even with slashed prices, said its owner Mohamad Raffi.

One outfit is going for S$69 (US$51) this year, lower than the S$79 last year, he said, attributing the drop in sales to Singaporeans going across the border to do their shopping. 

“We don't make much (profit) margins. There are also less customers. Everyone complained about having less business. Even with my shop at the front, there's still not many customers (un)like last year,” he lamented. 

Princess Boutique in Joo chiat Complex also has seen a 20 per cent drop in sales compared to last year.