Enugu Traders Woo Customers With Gifts, Discounts

Barely eight nine days to Christmas, traders at Ogbete Market, Enugu, have devised various means to woo shoppers.

A check by our correspondent  revealed that most of the traders now offered discounts and various gifts to customers for various purchases.

Mr Ibenyenwa Nwizu, who runs a provision store, said he now offered free gifts to customers, who bought items in excess of N3, 000 while his regular customers recieved discounts on goods purchased.

“It is my own little way of saying thank you to my customers, who have been consistent in patronising me since the beginning of the year,“ he said.

Another trader in the market, Mr Innocent Enwedo, also a provisions dealer, said that it had become an annual ritual for him to appreciate his customers, so as to retain them in the coming year.

Meanwhile, traders who sell children’s wears and shoes have complained of low sales, due to general complaints by parents that funds were scarce.

Mrs Chinelo Enujioke, a trader, said that the situation was largely attributable to the fact the civil servants, who formed the bulk of their customers have not been paid their salaries.

“By this time last year, l had ordered for additional supply as people were demanding but for now, l am still selling the wares l bought in the past two weeks,“ she said.

Our checks further revealed that prices of food items in the market are also varying in different proportions.

A basket of tomatoes now sells for N4, 500 as against the N3, 000 it sold last year, while a 50 kg bag of onions now costs N13, 000 as against N10, 000 it sold last year.

Mr Onyema Ogbodo, a rice dealer, told correspondent  that the demand for locally-processed rice had risen, stressing that a 50 kg bag of ‘de-stoned’ long grain rice cost N6, 5000, while the imported rice cost between N8,300 and N8, 700.