The tempo of activities in and around most shopping places across Lagos has been on the increase this past week because of the Easter celebration, reports TONIA ‘DIYAN.
EASTER is here again! Celebrated every year by Christians world over in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Easter is the most significant holy season, which starts with the Holy Thursday, culminating in Good Friday, the day of crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and Easter Sunday when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ.
Though a holy season, which offers Christians the opportunity to reflect on God’s fulfilment of his covenant through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christians across the world take time off to observe the celebration with pump and pageantry. It is indeed, a season of immense splendour, as people use the opportunity of the public holiday to meet their friends, relatives, and loved ones to relive cherished moments amid feasting.
Alongside the usual get-together, merry-making, and social networking, most people find grocery shops and entertainment/fun spots interesting places to be. Expectedly, there has been upsurge of social and economic activities in and around shopping complexes and fun spots across the Lagos Metropolis. Several gift shops parade varieties for the celebration. Many high street shops visited by The Nation Shopping have an array of lovely Easter themed items such as the Easter gift basket, handmade or personalised gifts, photo gifts, beddings and bath, baby gifts, accessories, personalised jewelry, and Easter crafts, among others.
On account of the upsurge in social and economic activities in and around these places in the last couple of weeks, there has been an upward adjustment of prices of consumer goods and other gift items. Already, there has been intense competition among shopping malls and gift shops. To these shopping outlets, festive periods such as Easter is an opportunity to make more money. In Lagos where most residents are already in Easter celebration mood since last week, human and vehicular traffic has picked up around most grocery shops, as shoppers storm the place despite the slight adjustment in price of items.
A consumer, who was at The Palms in Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos, Thomas Chike, said it is during festive periods such as Easter that businesses boom hence, retailers usually take advantage of the opportunity to make more money. He said, “Whenever it is time for one celebration or the other, I notice some changes in the prices of items, reduction in the quantity or changes in the quality of some consumer products. And I suspect it is just an avenue for these retailers to make more money”
Chike’s wife who was with him at the mall, noted that shopping places are good at luring people during festivities. “Shops have one strategy or the other to entice customers. If they are not reducing prices, they are giving out free items or introducing innovations different from what customers are offered before the celebration.” she said. Indeed, increase in prices of commodities always pinch shoppers at every festive season, which is why to most consumers, prices of most needed goods are often increased for traders’ selfish gains.
Secretary, Daleko Market, Mr. Biodun Amuwa, attributed the increase in prices of items during festivities such as Easter to the deplorable state of Nigerian roads, hike in transport fares, and pump price of fuel, among other things. He said that the high cost of items has nothing to do with festive seasons. “People only misunderstand things. Even when prices are stable but quantity is reduced, they still attribute it to the festive season. Traders can only sell what they buy,” he explained.
Confirming this, a rice dealer at the market, Mr. Musiliu Gbadamosi told The Nation Shopping that the constant increase in the prices of rice is caused by high transport fare as well as the increase in demand by the people. According to him: “The increase as you have observed isn’t our making and we are not happy about it, because many people believe we normally increase the prices to make more gains during festivals. It is not so. We do not just increase prices of goods just like that; the problem is that during festive periods, there is increase in transport fares in conveying these goods from the north to Lagos.”
Mr. Gbadamosi also said the current scarcity of fuel in the country has not helped matters. “We all know the fuel crisis in this country and for us to cover the unit cost of these goods, including the transport fares, we have to increase their prices so that we don’t lose,” he emphasised.
However, most Lagosians are not deterred by the high cost of food and gift items. The Nation Shopping found that there has not been any significant drop in patronage of these food and gift items, as shoppers say they have to feed and share gifts as part of the Easter celebration. Some food stuff traders confirmed that business is booming and more people are coming for foodstuffs as they can’t do without it, whether during festivity or not.
To get round the issue of high cost, Mr. Tola Odusote, a Consumer Behaviour Specialist, advised that consumers should prioritise their needs and make the best purchase decisions within their limited resources during festive periods. He advised that people should operate within the limit of their resources to avoid cash crunch after the celebration when money is always scarce to attend to family needs.
Some shopping outlets, as part of effort to cushion the effect of the price adjustments and attract more customers, also operate discount sales, especially during festive periods such as Easter. While this may encourage more patronage particularly by customers in the lower rung of the economic ladder, the same cannot be said of high networth customers, who, despite the current hike in prices, are ready to make big purchases.
