KOTA KINABALU – The jolliest time of the year is here again, however, the festive mood is subdued this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The usual merry and colourful decorations in local malls are gone as store operators expect lesser numbers of shoppers this festive season.
Christmas ornament seller Juriah Ahmad told The Vibes that business is unusually quiet this year.
“Usually the crowd has already started in the second week of December. Stores would be offering low prices.
“Sales have been lukewarm for us this year,” said Juriah, who rented a stall space in Wisma Merdeka, one of Kota Kinabalu’s oldest malls.
The decorations at Centre Point are also much less than their usual display, with only colour lights left hanging from the mall ceiling to give a bright snowfall effect.
There’s barely any huge Christmas trees, or men dressed in Santa Claus bringing cheer to mall visitors as stores are still offering the usual holiday discounts.
In Imago Mall, the centre atrium barely has any Christmas decorations at all. The mall management usually splurges on the festival decorations.
A worker at an apparel store in Oceanus Mall also lamented the reduced number of shoppers as he believed that many had turned to online shopping to purchase gifts for their loved ones.
Christopher Tan admitted there was a drastic change in the way Sabah shoppers shop.
“There were more people during Chinese New Year as the Covid-19 has not hit Malaysia yet.
“Then we had the lockdown in March. All the malls are practically closed,” he said.
Tan hopes that everything will return back to normal next year, when the government has finally acquired the Covid-19 vaccine. – The Vibes, December 17, 2020
