e-shopping fever catches on

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 12

It’s Valentine week and social networking sites are abuzz with activity. Online shopping sites too are making the most of the occasion by offering discounts, affecting the business of local traders.

The sale of gift items ranging from beautiful greeting cards, roses, stuffed toys, chocolates to personalised gifts has gone down as tech-savvy youngsters prefer buying stuff online.

“Our sales have gone down by 50 per cent this year. Nobody buys greeting cards from stores these days,” said owner of a gift store Pankaj Sharma.

“We are pinning hopes on February 13 and 14 as people who are not inclined to the Internet or those who could not order anything online would visit our store,” he added.

“The sales have dropped by 40 to 50 per cent. Customers come to our shops, check gift items and then order those online to save money,” said president of the Shimla Beopar Mandal Inderjit Singh.

Some of the messages making rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp read: “This Valentine, either she is mine or I am Baarang Dal’s, have khajoor on Valentine’s Day, at least the next day, you can say I had date this time, no beating and bashing of couples, ask them when will they have time to love their country.”

“We don’t need a special day to express our love. For us, every day is Valentine’s Day,” said an elderly couple, Kuldeep and Jaya, who have been married for 37 years.

“In our youth, the day did not hold as much importance as it holds today, but now it is celebrated as a festival in our country. Still, we feel that 24x7 dating sites have reduced the importance of the day,” they added.