Eid Festivity: Jubilation of physical shopping in post- Covid era.

ISLAMABAD -- Tired of online buying and restrictions due to COVID-19 during last two years, shopping on this Eid-ul-Fitr is far more jubilant for the buyers with thousands thronging the markets and malls of twin cities.

The vibrant hues of bangles, aromatic henna and the spectacular designs of attires and foot wears have completely occupied the markets alluring women and children with a few days left in the grand festival.

Although they start visiting markets off and on right from mid of Ramzan, but during the last Ashra of Ramazan, Eid shopping picks up pace with malls and markets of

Rawalpindi and Islamabad flooding with a large number of shoppers.

This time, shopping also provide a different feeling as most of the buyers in the past had to depend on online buying due to COVID-19. But, the buyers who had shifted their mode of shopping from physical to digital to keep themselves safe from the pandemic during the last two to three years were now reverting to physical shopping since the threat of COVID-19 is over.

Like every year, women and children seems to be more enthusiastic towards Eid shopping without paying any heed on their budgetary limitations while the men are behaving realistically fearing of extravagance in prevailing price hike situation.

"Nothing can dampen the shopping spirit of women especially for Eid-ul-Fitr either it is COVID or inflation. Whatever circumstances are, we have to manage buying all Eid stuff for ourselves and families to celebrate this festival to the fullest', Shaheena Imran, a housewife said.

'It was requirement of the time to opt for digital shopping during the pandemic but now we can freely visit the markets to choose the best after surveying. The real joy of shopping can be felt only through visiting the markets physically', she observed.

It has been observed that different popular brands dealing with garments and foot wears have started offering Ramzan discounts to provide an opportunity to the shoppers to buy such stuff on low price.

'The kid's brands from where I use to buy clothes of my children are offering 20 percent discount and it is not less than any blessing in prevailing price hike situation. Some brands are even selling good stuff on the lesser rates as compared to the local shops in the markets', Arshad Khan, a government employee said.

'Digitalization has made it easier for the consumers like me to select the products of their choice first through the brand's official websites before...