The Malaysian Insight

TRADERS are delighted at the many spending sprees ahead of Hari Raya next month, after two years of Covid-19 lockdowns.

Vendors who sell Hari Raya items, especially clothing, told The Malaysian Insight that sales have increased by more than 100% compared to last year, two weeks before the Muslim festival.

A Raya clothes seller, Noor Suriani Zahid, 34, said she managed to sell 500 pieces of baju kurung in just 10 days at a local Ramadan bazaar in Kuala Terengganu.

Last year, when travel restrictions were still in place during Hari Raya, she only sold 400 pieces over a period of one month.

“This time, I ran out of stock sooner than expected. I was worried about ordering more stock so I bought only a month’s worth but it ran out in a few days.

“I had to repeatedly add new stock in order to meet demand,” Noor Suriani said at the Ramadan bazaar organised by the Terengganu Business Centre.

She estimates that this year’s consumer spending trend will exceed pre-pandemic levels in the run up to Hari Raya. This is because customers are not only buying one new item of clothing, but instead several pieces of Raya clothes.

“I felt consumers were more cautious previously, even before Covid-19 times. Many just bought one new outfit.

“But this year they are coming out in droves and buying two or three pairs, whatever the price or design. It’s as if they are on a revenge shopping spree after not being able to celebrate Raya for two years,” Noor Suriani said.

The government had imposed movement restrictions on Raya festivities for the last two years that included limits on travel beyond a certain distance and limits on the number of guests a house can receive. Large gatherings and the customary “open house” were out of the question, in the country’s bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Now, Putrajaya has allowed “balik kampung” travel and inter-state travel for Hari Raya as the country transitions towards endemicity.

Already, sales for the first quarter of this year, boosted by Hari Raya shopping, have improved by more than 100%, and Noor Suriani hopes she can even cover losses she faced during the pandemic.

Mohd Ghazali Kori, 35, who sells men’s sandals known as “capal”, said he had received orders for the footwear even before he opened his stall at the Kuala Terengganu Ramadan bazaar.

“I usually start business 10 days before Hari Raya as our sandals, which are handmade, are specially reserved for this festival.

“I’ve ordered additional stock this year after observing people’s spending pattern, and already about a quarter of our stock has been taken up by customers,” he said.

Mohd Ghazali said he feels relieved and hopeful that he can recover his losses from the pandemic.

“Last year we ended up with unsold stock as people did not go all out to celebrate Raya. Most of our buyers were those returning from Kuala Lumpur where they work. But as inter-state travel was not allowed previously, there was no demand for our sandals,” he said.

In Shah Alam, Selangor, Shafiq Adli, 34, who sells baju melayu and kurtas, said he had already made sales worth RM250,000 which surpassed last year’s numbers.

“I did not expect sales to be so encouraging this year,” said the vendor who has been selling baju Melayu since 2015.

“Even the higher priced clothes at RM250 are being snapped off. People are just buying whatever they like without thinking much about the price.

Shafiq attributed the good reception from consumers partly to the special, one-of RM10,000 Employees Provident Fund withdrawal that was allowed from April 1 for a month.

“I expect sales to continue to increase because of this withdrawal, and have prepared adequate stock,” Shafiq said.

The EPF said recently that it had received 5.3 million applications for withdrawals totalling RM40.1 billion in two weeks since applications opened on April 1.

By wage-earning groups, the applicants were 55% of eligible B40 contributors, 59% of the M40 group, and 39% of T20 earners. – April 20, 2022.