On eve of GST roll-out, retailers brace for diehards

Diehard shoppers would be camping out till late on Friday night, and some even after, as many retailers plan to remain open amid a magnificent GST roll-out. GST is goods and services tax.
 
Major retailers said they have been running sales for the last few days and on Friday night shops would remain open for at least two hours more.
 
"We will be open till 10 on Friday night. The sales have been normal for us but we are hoping people would venture out on Friday night," said Kavindra Mishra, managing director, Pepe Jeans India.
 

On Friday night, Big Bazaar will remain open for a midnight shopping bonanza the company is calling 'GST Muhurat Shopping'. Running 12 am to 2 am, this sale would see a host of offers on various items.

 
The company said it will pass on the entire benefit of GST to its customers, with price drops ranging from 2 to 22 per cent across products and categories, and bonus and cashbacks lined up for customers, under 'GST Muhurat Shopping'.
 
Online marketplaces, such as Flipkart and Amazon, are also running pre-GST schemes till Friday night. In the last one month, malls and high-street retail outlets have had pre-GST sales. Many end-of-season sales were hosted even earlier than usual to dispose inventory and make shelf space for fresh stock after the GST roll-out.
 
According to major malls, while most establishments would close at around 11 pm on Friday night — normal closing time — some would remain open even after. "DLF Malls will be closed in line with regular timings between 10 pm and 11 pm on Friday night. It's Big Bazaar in DLF Mall of India, Noida, which will be operational from 12 am to 2 am," Pushpa Bector, executive vice-president and head, DLF Premium Malls.