City malls anticipate surge in puja shopping as footfall remains steady
Times of India | 8 September 2025
Kolkata: With a steady stream of footfall on the second last Sunday before Mahalaya across major malls in Kolkata, retailers and shop owners said they are anticipating more rush over the next two weekends.
They say they are yet to record the usual peak sales observed in the lead-up to the biggest shopping bonanza in the city.
At South City, two major anchor stores, Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons, recorded sales of over Rs 1 crore each on Saturday. Additionally, restaurants collectively clocked around Rs 90 lakh in revenue. However, sources stated that these figures were similar to those in 2023. Last year, footfall and sales saw an appreciable dip due to widespread street protests over the RG Kar rape-murder case.
"Last year, sales picked up only a fortnight before Durga Puja. This year, too, we expect the surge to happen only around next weekend. We hope the puja vibe will be felt around then. Shopping has been steady, but the frenzy that one witnesses before the festival has not been seen yet. We expect that to happen between Sept 15 and 25," said a mall functionary.
Moving around along the multiple levels of the shopping mall were sisters Anushka Dutta and Rituja Bhowmick when TOI caught up with them.
"I won't be around for puja, but the vibe is building up, and pandals are going up. Shopping with my sister is definitely more fun than shopping with my parents. Though most of my puja shopping is done online."
Rituja added, "We are diversifying our shopping experience just like an investment in a mutual fund—we pick up a bit of everything every day."
Samrat Dey, out for a movie with his friend, remarked, "Puja shopping hasn't really started yet.
I'll place my orders after Mahalaya." Iris Roy noted, "This is my first weekend off, and the puja vibe is strong despite the warm weather."
At City Centre 1 in Salt Lake and City Centre 2 in New Town, the turnout is good, though not overwhelming. A mall functionary attributed this to the recent conclusion of the End of Season Sale (EOSS) on Aug 31, delaying the Durga Puja offers announcement.
"Usually, there is a 1.5-2 months gap between EOSS, which concludes on Aug 15, and Durga Puja.
But this year, the EOSS stretched till Aug 31. That means many shoppers have just completed their shopping. Once Durga Puja offers are announced in a couple of days, customers will turn up. Fresh stocks have arrived in stores and that should attract shoppers," said Ramesh Pandey, wholetime director of Ambuja Neotia, which operates the twin malls.
At Quest, where a makeover is underway, the newly revamped food court is bustling.
However, retail lacks the excitement typically seen before Durga Puja. The mall operator attributed this to the early puja schedule and abundant rain this monsoon. "We are halfway through the renovation project and should be ready to catch the crowd next year," said Quest CEO Sanjeev Mehra.
At Acropolis, Merlin Group corporate general manager (retail and hospitality) Subhadip Basu acknowledged that the momentum for puja shopping was yet to take off.
"This could probably be due to the late end to the EOSS and half-yearly examinations in schools. Footfall is up 10% over the corresponding period in 2023 and 5% over the corresponding period in 2024. Acropolis Mall launched its puja shopping campaign on Aug 29 and we are expecting to witness an impressive turnout," he said.
Store employees echoed the sentiment of growing anticipation. Anisha Shankar from Mango store in South City said, "While sales haven't met our expectations yet, we are optimistic for the coming week. Customers are now gravitating toward winter clothing and bright festival colours."