Shopping comes to a halt, but food courts on a high

Says at the recent India-Pakistan match, very few people were seen at the malls

Cricket lovers in India were not the only ones left disappointed after Thursday's World Cup match, taking Australia to the final. Most shoppers, glued to TV sets through the semi-final, stayed away from retail stores all day, impacting their business. However, several food courts and restaurants, screening the match on large screens, remained packed with guests.

"We saw 50 per cent reduction in footfalls in stores. There was hardly any shopping," said Mukesh Kumar, vice-president at Infiniti Mall, which runs two malls in Mumbai.

Kumar said Sunday's final could have hit business much more had India reached the final. "At the recent India-Pakistan match, very few people were seen at the malls. Footfall picked up only after 5 pm," he said.

According to Ishita Yashvi of DLF Mall of India, the footfall did see a drop in retail stores. "But a lot of people were busy watching the game, along with food," she added. In fact, hotels and restaurants have made the most out of it so far, with customised offering during the World Cup.

Cricket fever has gripped fans since the tournament entered the semi-final stage. While some MNCs allowed leave to employees, others chose to arrange screenings of the match in office.

Nobody was shopping when the match was on, admitted Alok Dubey, CEO, Lifestyle Brands at Arvind, with stores of US Polo and Arrow, among others. The matches get over by 5 pm and, therefore, business is not much, he said.

"Food courts at our mall opened at 8 am on Thursday. All our restaurants sold out in Lower Parel, and a couple of them were sold out at Kurla," said Rajendra Kalkar, senior centre director, West, at Phoenix Mills. India is out, and it remains to be seen if an Australia vs New Zealand final on Sunday would also keep shoppers away from the stores within and outside the malls.