Overview
- Shoppers packed Kolkata markets and major malls over the Mahalaya weekend as last‑minute Puja buying surged in Hatibagan, Gariahat, New Market and Fancy Bazar.
- Organised retail reported clear gains, with some malls recording 20–25% growth in apparel and footwear and expecting daily footfall above 25,000 at busy centres.
- Many street sellers and small shops said customers are buying fewer items per visit and that the festival rush started later than usual before picking up on the weekend.
- Retailers coped by extending store hours, managing full parking lots and longer trial queues, while mall managers and traders scrambled to handle the concentrated demand.
- Merchants warn that online sales and modern malls are shifting when and where people buy, squeezing margins for traditional shops and raising pressure for discounts, staffing and parking solutions during the peak season.