Local Kirana Stores: Some local kirana stores have started home delivery services. “Unlike big retailers who have fixed minimum purchase orders for home delivery, we have put no conditions and even cater to low income groups and give discounts on few products to compete with big players,” said Jatin Bansal, a grocer in Triveninagar. Ruchir Awasthi, grocery store owner in Kapoorthala, has started home delivery only for elderly and students living in small rented accommodations and preparing for competitive exams. “People in these groups do not order in bulk, but need support to survive. In return, we get some business,” he said. Iqbal, who has a makeshift vegetable and fruit shop in Rahimnagar, has put his two sons on home delivery duty. “We can’t cater to all, but serve elderly and regular customers,” he said.
Electronics: The electronics and gadgets market is still recovering from the beating. Traders said online giants had damaged our prospects even before the pandemic, but the situation aggravated further in the past one year. The traders were expecting an increase in sales with the arrival of work from home culture, but when it did not happen as per expectations, they have come up with their own EMI schemes. Lucknow Traders Association secretary Pawan Manocha said, “Customers in low income group do not have credit cards which is mandatory for EMI option offered by most online giants, hence we rolled out our own EMI scheme by taking photocopies of bank passbook and pan card. Our scheme has an added benefit of one-year repair guarantee, besides free screen guards.”
Multiplexes: Single theatre cinema halls and multiplexes are still reeling under crisis because most new releases are now on OTT platforms and people avoid visiting halls. Director of cinema division of a multiplex chain Yogesh Raizada said, “Despite making all provisions for covid safety, our business has dropped down by about 90%5. Before the pandemic, average footfall in a multiplex used to be 1,000 people, which now has come down to around 100.” People are still scared of visiting theatres. “OTT platforms are safer in the times of pandemic and also cheaper. I don’t think I will be going to watch a movie in a theatre till Covid-19 subsides completely,” said Astha Sinha, a student.
Grooming: Mohammad Rizwan, (30), who runs a small salon in Gole Market, has divided day’s work in two parts. The first half of the day is for a few customers who still visit the shop and in the second, he provides home service to customers who are still scared of visiting the salon. “I follow all safety protocols, but people are scared and switching over to app based services, hence I found a middle path to survive,” he said. Similarly, Priya Kashyap (24) had to close her small beauty parlour in Aashiana. “My parlour has just two seats with little space to move around, hence physical distancing is impossible if three customers arrive at a time. As people stopped coming, I had to pack up because I was unable to pay the rent. Now, I am completely offering home services to old customers and gradually started getting newer ones,” she said.
Gyming: Gyms have not been able to return to 50% business. “Forget about new customers, some who had taken two or three years membership are also not coming,” said Parth Nigam, gym owner at Indira Nagar. However, sales of gym equipment like dumbbells, barbells, bench press, cables and pulleys have increased. Tanay Gulati, owner of gym equipment shops in Aminabad, said that sales have been record breaking. “The number of dumbbells sold in from May 2020 till date is more than the sales in 2019 and in 2020 till March “
