Saturday 27 / April / 2024
Muscat: Business owners and shopkeepers in Oman have expressed relief that they’ve been allowed to resume activities, but are cautious about how soon they can let in their full complement of customers.
More shops were allowed to resume operations, following the decision by the Supreme Committee to deal with COVID-19 to ease some of the precautions that had been put in place to stop the spread of the disease in the country.
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Shoe stores, jewellery showrooms, key makers, clothes shops, photocopy centres, tailors, motorcycle and bicycle showrooms and repair shops, photo studios, furniture stores, billing offices and stores selling luxury goods were among those allowed to reopen under the supervision of the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR).
These shops had been temporarily shut during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to reduce the rate of infection. However, reopening them comes with precautions, including maintaining a distance of two metres as part of social distancing protocols, ensuring customers wear masks, and sanitising the shops.
“We have begun getting a few customers every day,” said the business owner of a few electronics and shoe shops in Ruwi. “They are careful to take many of the precautions required, even if social distancing of up to two metres is not possible. Nevertheles, customers in the shops do make it a point not to get in each other’s way and to provide everyone the space they need.”
“We have begun temperature checks of everyone who walks into our stores, and all of our staff wear masks and gloves,” added the owner of a store in Qurum.
“We have put up signs asking people not to touch the merchandise, but call one of our salesmen if they want to examine something further. It is good that shops have been allowed to reopen, but we need customers soon if we are to do well.”
However, customer confidence has been impacted by COVID-19, and will take some time to recover, said Ramanuj Venkatesh, a financial advisor at First Reliance Services, an accounting and audit firm in the country.
“Consumer confidence depends on three factors: your standard of living, current economic conditions, and consumer expectations. Consumer confidence is actually a bit stable here, despite the impact of COVID-19, but it is a bit lower than what it was earlier. The dip in the oil prices has seen people move towards more cost-saving exercises.
“Looking at that perspective, people are looking to save as much as they can so that they can have good personal finances in the future,” he added. “Consumer confidence will return when production is boosted, because more production leads to more goods in the market. People are willing to spend on essentials such as groceries and other basic household items. People are holding onto their income due to the current COVID scenario, which is likely to stay for a while.”
