Marina Bay Shops Report Poor Sales

FF Fashion

Channel NewsAsia - Thursday, September 25

SINGAPORE : Traffic flowed more smoothly on the second day of road closures in the Marina Bay area, as more people took public transport to the area.

But human traffic in the shopping malls was poor on the whole, leading retailers to report a 30 to 70 per cent drop in sales.

Traffic going into the Marina Bay area on Wednesday morning was smooth, despite the heavy rain and road closures.

This is a stark contrast from the scenes of congestion on Tuesday.

One person said: "Today was clear all the way. I suppose everybody looked at the maps today."

Another commented, "We actually took the train so it is not too bad. You just have to squeeze with the crowd."

While riding the trains to work was relatively hassle—free, it was a different story for bus commuters who had to deal with traffic diversions.

One bus commuter said: "The bus did not come in, so we had to take a 15— to 20—minute walk to Suntec."

Another commuter noted, "From Raffles, I should have got off the bus, but then again it was raining, so I thought I should get off at the next stop, but the next stop was at East Coast Park."

Despite the numerous sales in the area, local shoppers stayed away from the Marina Bay area to avoid the road closures.

Max Huang, retailer, The Sense House, said: "My business has been affected these past two days...(sales are down) by half."

Mahmut Kaya, retailer, Turkish Handicrafts, said: "(These) last two days, human traffic has dropped by too much...from 11.30am to 7 o’clock, nobody is walking around."

Some 40,000 tourists are expected in town for the world’s first night race — but many are arriving only on Friday.

Retailers hope that come Friday, sales will soar with the arrival of 100,000 Formula One spectators in the area, making up for three days of sharp falls in profits. — CNA/ms