That’s our shopping style

Our readers shop as per their budget and convenience

 Being a shopaholic, I buy clothes wherever I visit stores or feel like buying. I can’t help myself from buying clothes if my wallet is full. With shopping malls and clothing stores mushrooming day-by-day in the town, it is not difficult to find stores. However, I prefer to shop at the hub of buyers — New Road where we can get everything we want at reasonable price without worrying about quality. But one has to bargain as much as one can. Bhatbhateni Supermarket is one of my favourite places for shopping where we can purchase all things we need under one roof.

— Indira Magar, Imadol, Lalitpur

 It depends on our demand and choice when it comes to shopping. When we have to purchase standard, branded and popular products, we usually go to the supermarkets. However, when it comes to buying day-to-day essential products, we rather go to corner shops. There are also instances when we have to buy our desired products from street shops but that too depends upon situations. Besides we also never neglect supermarkets like Bhatbhateni Supermarket and Saleways Departmental Store which are our sought after places to buy our household goods. My family loves shopping but we shop according to our budget.

— Pratik Shrestha, Buddhanagar, Baneshwor

 The concept of shopping malls and department stores in our country does not have a long history. Today we have many shopping destinations. I mostly shop in shopping malls for items like clothes, electronics goods, fruits and other domestic items. I find the atmosphere of shopping malls very healthy while they are a good place to pass time. Here, I have an easy time selecting goods that I like from so many options according to my financial capability. Other reasons are that branded goods are available and you get new products as they enter the market. Moreover, these malls have facilities of washrooms, eateries and children’s corner et cetera which are added attractions. Considering my budget, quality of products and services, I always prefer shopping malls. It is a pleasant experience visiting malls with your family and friends where we have a nice time. Meanwhile, for some particular type of goods, you have to go to street shops and that is natural due to availability factor.

— Shree Ram Aryal, Biratnagar

 Most often, I shop in the department stores because varieties of necessary goods and commodities can be purchased at reasonable price in such stores. I rarely shop in convenience stores. I don’t hesitate to reveal that shopping in the shopping malls is beyond my reach in terms of budget, except in few cases. As far as the budget is concerned, very few people really prefer shopping in shopping malls since they’re too expensive. Needless to say, qualitative goods and services are not necessarily available in highly-rated shopping malls. One can find quality goods even in department stores. But shopping depends upon how well one can find quality goods with proper service provided within your limited budget. One needs to be quite tactful in this regard and one must realise that, “You have to cut your coat according to the size of your cloth.”

— Sanjog Karki,Tansen-6, Basantapur, Palpa

 Although there are plenty of options to go shopping here, I mostly go to convenience stores and streets shops. Many people think that quality products can be found only at shopping malls and department stores. But for me, the small stores and street shops are the best places to shop. There are many things to be considered while shopping such as budget, quality and service. Quality products can be found even in the street shops in an affordable price if we can discern qualitative products. Though the goods seem to be enticing at the malls, the small shops are palatable for me to shop.

— Anonymous

 Remittance fuelled consumerism has hit Kathmandu hard, which is evident in the varieties of malls and shopping centres mushrooming in the “City of Temples”. As for me, I am a bit old fashioned, so those glitzy places are off my list. Customer service is what I value the most. And that means politeness, sincerity and hospitality of a shopkeeper is what attracts me to become their regular customer. Narrow alleyways of old Kathmandu are full of charming little shops that cater to patrons like me, with a big smile.

— Anonymous

 I have always preferred street shops for regular shopping; as to my assessment the quality is the same as that of air-conditioned and beautifully designed shopping malls and giant departmental stores. Also, the prices are much cheaper and affordable. Furthermore, street shops are more cordial and help develop a stronger relationship with their customers compared to big shopping chains and franchises, which I personally prefer to have as a dedicated customer. It is also easier to bargain where both customer and the seller can reach an amicable agreement. Often special deals are available that are beneficial to both sides. Lastly, street shops are owned mostly by our poor brothers and sisters; and I would rather like to contribute to their incomes by being their dedicated customer rather than being dedicated to branded names and huge shopping complexes that enjoy massive economic turn outs at the end of every fiscal year.

— Saikat Kumar Basu

 I often shop at the convenience stores but believe that department stores are also a good place to shop because we find all necessary items under one roof. As we know that the department stores are only famous for its eating items which is why most of the people don’t purchase clothes from them. Most of the people prefer convenience stores which is easy to shop in and create public relation. In the context of Nepal, most of the people are from middle class who don’t go to department stores for shopping. They want to shop from convenience stores where you can bargain.

— Kusum Bhattarai

 Shopping is one exciting part of people’s life. Our lifestyle has changed in the recent times and so has the shopping style and choice of people. There are many shopping options available around us and it includes different malls to department stores to convenience shops to street shops. And my shopping differs from on the things I would like to buy. If it is some grocery products and cosmetics, I like to visit some good department stores which are around. When it comes to buying clothes and shoes, I buy things wherever I see the best ones for me. For me getting right thing is important but I mostly shop in the shopping malls. And if you are buying something from your regular shop, you will get a heavy discount which happens mostly to me. There are some particular clothing stores in New Road and Kumaripati where I mostly buy clothes and accessories as a regular customer. I get best and qualitative products with discount and a good service at these shops.

— Tejaswi Pahari, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur

 There are a plenty of shopping centres in different places of city — departmental stores, supermarkets, retailer shops, street shops et cetera. This means people have many options to choose from in terms of quality of goods, service provided by sellers and purchasing capacity of customers. Departmental stores and supermarkets may provide good quality of goods in fixed price and home delivery services, but it is not affordable to low income generating people due to high price. There are innumerable street shops and peddlers in different places of the city. They sell different goods like ready made clothes, leather made goods, ready made foods, cooked foods, fruits et cetera in open places at low price. Street shops and vendors are a wise choice for low income generating people as goods are available in low price. From these destinations, you can buy some of the goods like ready made clothes, leather goods, and durable goods. But one has to know how to choose qualitative goods and know how to bargain.

— Bhairab Bahadur Pandey, Lainchaur

 I would really prefer to shop at shopping malls. Everything including from groceries, fitness products, clothing and many more are present under one roof. Getting everything under one roof means, shopping   made easier and you have varied options to choose from. You are actually saving a lot of time, and the facility of using ATM card also comes handy.

— Pranit Chand, Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu

 I prefer to go to shopping malls for my shopping. I visit shopping malls to buy basic daily requirements as well as to buy clothes. If we talk about shopping malls in terms of quality, I say it is better than street shop. Similarly in terms of service, shopping malls services are likely to be high in compared to street shops. They provide facilities like home delivery and we can get our order at door steps. However, in terms of budget, the prices of shopping malls are higher which are charged in fixed price and we can’t bargain.

— Baburam Khanal, Bouddha

 Vision of long queue of various shops selling different kinds of stuff, and a huge crowd of customers around Ason Bazaar inherently appear into my mind when I think of shopping. Whenever I visit there, I take a long list of things to buy. Since it is far away from the town where I live, it is not possible to go there frequently for shopping. So, I prepare well before I go there. In terms of my budget it is cheaper than other markets. There, I can get things at affordable price in both wholesale and retail-shops. Besides shopping, one can also wander off around the place and just indulge in window-shopping. Ason is also a destination where one can buy every item in terms of clothing and food. So, I prefer shopping mostly at Ason.

— Anonymous

 Many of us believe that only the standard places store quality products. But before I open my wallet, I am more likely to do research on how important and durable the things I am going to buy are. I am traditional to those items which sustain as per my expectation. I love to stick to the principle of comfort, where I may use the same things for long term but the material should be easy and qualitative as per its utility. Sometimes a buttload of items sometimes may be crappy. Instead of buying the same things time and again, it’s better to be logical and buy few nice things that last forever. Therefore, I shop at the places which are reasonable —it could be the streets of Ason or shopping malls around the city. We can find qualitative products anywhere; it is just that one needs to seek them.

— Sangita B K Rasaili, Maitidevi, Kathmandu

 I prefer shopping in shopping malls because they have quality products and also the service they provide is pretty good. When it comes to budget, I also prefer to shop at shopping malls because the quality of goods you buy from them can last longer than that from the street shops. So, instead of buying clothes every month at low prices from the street shops, I prefer to buy something which has quality even if it’s expensive.

— Anonymous

 Personally I don’t have any particular place for shopping. Sometimes I buy my favourite club jersey from the streets of Sundhara and some time I go to Bhatbhateni for my undergarments. I also prefer to buy things from the convenience stores near my place. They aren’t costlier. I am very bad at evaluating quality of products, so I go for popular branded products when I have a big budget.

— Madhab Acharya, Ghattekulo, Maitidevi

 I don’t like shopping but I can’t avoid it. You need to go out and buy things from your basic needs like groceries to clothes to anything. But shopping has been made easier. Thanks to plenty of shopping malls to corner shops to departmental stores, convenience stores to street vendors. And so, I can shop anywhere of the Valley as per my needs, convenience and budget. I buy tee-shirt, trousers and things I like from the street vendors in-front of the Kathmandu Mall as per my liking, while I also buy clothes and shoes among others from Kathmandu Mall. I also shop at Civil Mall or many stores of New Road.  Sometimes, I buy clothes from my nearby small stores where I get things for pretty less amount that of malls without having to travel that far! Also, thanks to supermarkets like Bhatbhateni which has made shopping easier. You get grocery to shoes to clothes and what not under one roof — I don’t have to travel here and there which is why I love to shop at Bhatbhateni. For basic needs and grocery, convenience stores like Big Mart which has opened in every corners of the city is a blessing!

— Anonymous

 I love to shop in sophisticated shopping malls. The items available here, clothes, shoes or anything else are of good quality unlike those found in street shops or other stores. On top of that, most stores in such malls have employed well-mannered and trained people, who treat their customers with utmost respect, though it is a rare case in Nepal. Overall, it is the customer service that matters most, and I think it is good in shopping malls as compared to others.

— Anonymous

 I shop everywhere — depending upon the quality of things, and price.  Sometimes, even the shops on footpath have items of good quality, and I don’t hesitate to buy such items. And shopping malls sometimes charge very unreasonable price for cheaper objects, and I do not buy such things.

— Ananya

 Footpath shops are the best place to shop for the required items — the price is very reasonable here. From a simple tee-shirt to sunglasses, everything is available at reasonable price in the footpath shops. I think the bigger stores and shopping malls charge you more for the same items to cover the cost they require to pay the rent of their stores.

— Binaya

 Whenever I have money, I love to shop in the elegant stores of shopping malls. If I have tight budget, I find the required materials in the small stores around my house. When I am running out of budget but need to buy certain things at any cost, then I choose to find the things required in footpath shops. My shopping spree depends upon my budget. As such I have a collection of expensive items to very cheaper items — that I have bought in diverse shopping stores around town.

— Anonymous

 The best place in Kathmandu Valley to shop is Durbarmarg. You get qualitative and branded items those are durable. It may be little expensive but it is worth it as they are of quality and durable unlike things you get in street shops which are cheap. I also opt for shopping malls where you get good products.

— Suman Gurung

 There are plenty of shops that provide quality products but they are usually expensive for people like us. For basic clothing items I shop at New road and Ason. Though I agree that they don’t have good pieces, sometimes hard work pays off. You can get the same items at half the price. Remember to always look for offers online. Online shops or clothing stores have items on sale during stock clearance. So this can be your time! Some people prefer thrift shopping too. Though it is new to Nepal, it really helps! For other things like technical products or household items, one can be clever enough to ‘google’ and search for a quality product at affordable prices.

Bargaining is also very important. It is very important that you don’t waste your time and money on things you will never use. I used to go to fancy shops with my pocket money and buy a lot of things that are left unused in my closet. But I now know that spending your earnings on things that you really need is the best thing you can do. I love to pick things I love, no matter which store it is in if the price is right. However, I love dresses and heels fashionfactsNepal has and I opt for Station in Thamel for tee-shirts.

— Lhakpa Choedon Lama

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Monsoon is here and farmers have begun to plant paddy in their fields. Along with the hard work required, people have lots of fun during paddy plantation. Have you ever been a part of paddy plantation? Share you experience and fun memories.

­Send your replies in not more than 200 words by Friday, July 8 by 2 pm to Features Department, The Himalayan Times, e-mail: features@thehimalayantimes.com