Durga Puja business boom in Kolkata favours malls, big organisers as small traders struggle

Kolkata’s Durga Puja economy recorded uneven growth this year, with major puja organisers, shopping malls, organised retailers and e-commerce platforms reporting strong business, while smaller community committees, traditional markets and street hawkers struggled to benefit from the festive rush.

Government data showed that around 13,000 more pujas were organised this year than last year. However, the expansion in celebrations did not translate into equal gains, with advertising revenue increasingly concentrated among prominent pujas and shopping demand shifting towards malls, established retail chains and online platforms.

Advertising gains concentrated among prominent pujas

Large and traditionally popular puja organisers reported that their outdoor advertising slots were fully booked, with rates increasing by at least 20 per cent amid the growing use of LED displays. Smaller committees, in contrast, faced weaker demand, leaving a significant proportion of their advertising space vacant.

Kajol Sarkar, an office-bearer of the Forum for Durgotsab, which represents more than 550 community puja committees across Kolkata, Howrah and their suburbs, said advertisers were focusing on selected routes instead of distributing their budgets across multiple locations. He estimated that around 30 per cent of outdoor advertising slots at smaller pujas remained vacant.

Amit Mitra, executive vice-president of Pioneer Publicity Corporation, said LED digital hoardings had further widened the gap between large and small celebrations.

“Advertisement rates at big-budget pujas went up by at least 20 per cent due to LED displays, but brands rationalised spends by going slow on smaller roads and puja committees,” Mitra said.

Park Street, Camac Street and Theatre Road emerged as key advertising hubs during the festive season. These areas also fall within Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s Bhabanipur constituency.

Malls and organised retailers record strong festive sales

While smaller traders struggled to attract customers, organised retail reported robust business during the festive period.

Siddharth Pansari, managing director of Primarc Projects Private Limited, said the company’s mall recorded around 17 per cent growth in footfall over the 45-day pre-Puja period compared with the previous year.

Demand was strong across women’s wear, children’s clothing, footwear, men’s casual wear and beauty products, alongside high-value purchases at leading retail outlets, he said.

According to Pansari, footfall rose from nearly five lakh in September to around seven lakh in October. Festive business was expected to reach approximately ₹38 crore during the month.

Department store chains such as Style Bazaar, Bazaar Kolkata, Fashion Bazaar and Zudio, which cater to middle-income and mass-market consumers, also attracted heavy crowds across Kolkata and its surrounding areas.

Online discounts put traditional retailers under pressure

The growing popularity of online festive shopping has emerged as another challenge for traditional retailers. The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA) expressed concern on Monday over rising online sales and deep discounts offered by e-commerce platforms, arguing that the widening price difference between online and offline sellers was hurting conventional businesses.

E-commerce companies reportedly recorded around ₹24,000 crore in sales during the first two days of the festive season.

CWBTA president Sushil Poddar said the concern was not the growth of online shopping itself, but the substantial gap between prices offered by online platforms and physical stores.

“Traditional retailers are losing business because they simply cannot match prices offered by large online platforms,” Poddar said.

Asit Kumar Saha, a representative of the Hawkers Joint Action Committee, said online shopping, department stores and malls had affected small hawkers in traditional trading centres, including MG Road, Burrabazar, Hatibagan, Shyambazar, Jadavpur and, to some extent, Gariahat.

Street vendors were also anxious about the prospect of eviction after the Puja. Saha said the threat of action by Kolkata Municipal Corporation engineers had added to their concerns, while customers were bargaining harder, reducing margins and sometimes forcing traders to sell goods at a loss.

Economist warns of pressure on small businesses

Economist Saibal Kar, a professor at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, said Kolkata’s Puja shopping traditionally served two broad groups: relatively affluent consumers who preferred malls and major brands, and the much larger group that bought garments from neighbourhood and traditional markets such as Rashbehari, Burrabazar and Hatibagan.

Kar argued that the state’s economic priorities were increasingly favouring large capital over small retailers and hawkers.

“There is a push by the government that is not favourable to small retailers or hawkers. The government in Bengal is looking for big capital and is trying to protect its interests. There is a concerted effort to sideline small traders and hawkers by the new dispensation,” he said.

He also noted that large businesses were among the advertisers at major Puja celebrations, reinforcing the concentration of commercial opportunities around prominent organisers.

“Kolkata was a place for everyone. The changes show we are moving along the rest of India,” Kar said.

Highlighting the importance of small businesses to employment, the economist pointed out that the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector provides jobs to around 600 million people. He called on the government to take a more proactive approach to protecting small businesses, arguing that they were less vulnerable to international shocks.

The contrasting fortunes of large organisers, organised retailers and small traders underline how the expansion of Kolkata’s festive economy has not benefited all participants equally. While prominent celebrations and retail chains have capitalised on advertising and consumer spending, smaller committees, traditional shopkeepers and hawkers continue to face mounting competition and shrinking margins.