24 January 2022, Mumbai:
Mall operators in Kolkata have spotted green shoots of recovery from the third wave that saw footfall crash by 80%-85% from the festive high in December-end.
At Acropolis, footfall that had slumped after restrictions were announced in January-beginning saw recovery by almost 50% this week. The promotional sales on Republic Day, end-of-season sale, and Saraswati Puja and Valentine's Day lined up, mall general manager K Vijayan expects footfall to recover to the pre-restriction level by mid-February.
"The footfall slump was owing to the initial fear of a repeat of the second wave. Once it was clear that the third wave was nowhere close to being as bad as the second wave, customers felt confident enough to walk back.
From just essential sales, we are beginning to see activity in food and beverage and other non-essential category sales said mall general manager K Vijayan.
Though the recovery at luxury mall Quest has been a lot slower at 20%, mall vice-president Sanjeev Mehra believes people are just waiting for the government to send out the right signals before the situation turns around dramatically.
"I think we are nearing the end of the pandemic. That is the signal that the West is sending out. Once that signal goes out here, and I think that should happen before April, the year 2022-23 will turn out to be a record one with people stepping out to spend," he remarked.
The latter half of 2021 saw the pent-up demand drive sales to beyond the pre-pandemic level despite food and beverage contributing 70% of pre-Covid revenue and cinema only 30% of what it grossed in 2019.
At South City, it is still way short of what it was three weeks ago. But the mall operator says there has been a visible recovery in the past week with indications that sales will pick up in the next couple of weeks.
“People are back in the food court though restaurants are still struggling due to the 10 pm deadline. If the night restriction timing is pushed back to 11 pm, dinner will be back on the table,” said a mall representative.
The other malls — City Centre 1 at Salt Lake, City Centre 2 at New Town, Mani Square of EM Bypass, Forum and Forum Courtyard on Elgin Road, and Diamond City Mall — also saw visitors stream back and bring cheer to retailers.
Credits: TOI
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