Recession makes Bangaloreans cautious shoppers
Monday, 21 December 2009, 15:14 IST
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Bangalore: If not anything else, global economic recession seems to have taught one or two lessons in economics to India's IT hub. This festive season, ahead of Christmas and New Year revelry, Bangaloreans are showing "thrift" instead of the usual "splurge" while shopping. While there is no specific data, the city's prominent shopping hubs, including Brigade Road, Commercial Street and M.G. Road at the city centre, are witnessing a change in the way Bangaloreans shop. "As usual, festive shoppers have started thronging shops. However, they are spending less and hunting for good bargains," Suresh R., a trader and a member of the Brigade Shops and Establishments Association (BSEA), told IANS. Priya Raza, a shop owner on Brigade Road, one of the most popular shopping destinations, said it seemed Bangaloreans were yet to recover from the shock of recession. Although attractive discount sales are on in several malls, as part of the festive season, Bangaloreans are thinking twice before splurging. The mood to spend, once popular among Bangalore's crowd with disposable income, seems to be missing. "Discount sales are no more pulling crowds to shops. People are buying gifts, clothes and accessories, depending on their needs. The mood to splurge is missing this time," said Ramesh Makhija of Favourite Shop, a leading shopping destination in Commercial Street. The economy of Bangalore, mostly driven by the IT industry, was hit hard by global economic recession, which began in the US last year. Although global economy has started bouncing back, with the job market slowly opening up and companies no longer showing the exit door to employees, Bangaloreans are cautious while spending. "Bangalore has been severely hit by recession. But things have started improving. Lay-offs seems to have stopped," Karthik Shekhar, general secretary of UNITES Professionals India, told IANS. "However, it will take some time for the economy to fully recover. Once that happens, people are sure to open up their purses again," he added. According to UNITES Professionals, a union of employees in the ITES sector, around 50,000 techies in India lost jobs during September 2008-October 2009. Bangalore was the worst hit in job losses as 40 percent of Indian IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) professionals work in the city. Moreover, 80 percent of IT and BPO professionals in Bangalore have seen a cut in their pay packages and perks post-recession. Over half a million people are employed in the IT industry across Karnataka spanning software services and IT-enabled services, including BPO and call centres. As India's tech hub, Bangalore accounts for about 450,000 jobs, with 300,000 in software services and the remaining (150,000) in back-office operations. "Recession has taught me a good lesson. Save for bad times. Thankfully, I did not lose my job whereas so many of my friends were shown the door. These days I think twice before spending. I don't spend unnecessarily," said Apurva Agarwala, a software engineer. Shweta Misra, another IT professional, said now she saves half her salary. "I no more splurge. I make a budget for the month and make a good saving every month to tackle any situation," she said with a smile.
Source: IANS
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