Inclement weather in the country over the past few days has been forcing a number of retail outlets to down their shutters earlier than usual, the sudden change in weather has affected retail shop across the city.
It has been nearly a week since the rainy spell began and now the country is being peppered by strong and fresh North-Westerly winds causing temperatures to fall drastically across the country.
In view of the cold conditions, customers are not visiting retail shops late in the evening, so the shop owners don’t see a point in keeping the shops open till late hours.
Same is the case with businesses such as salons, butcheries, laundries etc., the weather has affected their working hours as well.
“The only businesses that remain open according to the normal timings are grocery stores and restaurants, all other shops are downing their shutter well-before the normal closing times”, a shopkeeper said.
Businesses that generally close by mid-night or later are nowadays closing by 11pm due to the prevalent weather conditions, as they don’t receive any customers beyond that time nowadays. The businesses affected include butcheries, boutiques, convenience stores etc.
With the respite in sight, the retail shopkeepers believe that this early closure of shops may continue for some more days.
The businesses that have remained somewhat immune to the changed weather are cafeterias and other eateries, they are keeping their doors open until midnight as usual.
“Although we are not receiving many customers, but we don’t want to disappoint our regular customers by closing down early,” said a restaurant operator.
Resident too are not preferring to stay outdoors beyond 10 or 11 pm, due to the sudden cold wave that has gripped the entire country. Beyond 11 pm, most of the roads in the country appear deserted as the weather conditions tend to reduce visibility, making it difficult to drive at normal speeds.
