\u201cIt was the first weekend after the malls reopened . Over the week, shoppers were seen gaining confidence and comfortable visiting the mall. Weekend compared to weekdays are promising and we saw a surge on Saturday. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain from morning till late afternoon on Sunday, footfalls<\/a> dipped. Though it improved in the evening, the numbers fell short of Saturday,\u201d said South City mall vice-president Manmohan Bagree. South City mall earned a revenue of Rs 5 crore during the week, down from Rs 20 crore before lockdown<\/a>. <\/p>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAcropolis did Rs 4 crore, down from Rs 16 crore in February. \u201cWe have restricted the capacity to accommodate only 30% of our normal footfalls to maintain social distancing. In the first week, we registered a 10% rise in footfall on the first weekend post-reopening. Also, only the discerning buyers came with a specific purpose of shopping or eating out. I expect the numbers to go up in subsequent weekends if rain doesn\u2019t play spoilsport,\u201d said Acropolis general manager K Vijayan. Quest mall vice-president Sanjeev Mehra felt people\u2019s hesitance to venture out would not go till the Covid situation improved. \u201cThere is no denying that people are scared. We are putting safety measures in place to instil confidence,\u201d he said.
Many retailers told TOI fear psychosis had kept many big spenders away. Ramesh Pandey, wholetime director at Ambuja Neotia that operates City Centre-I in Salt Lake and City Centre-II in New Town, said the fear factor<\/a> needed to be addressed, though he acknowledged it wasn\u2019t easy when India\u2019s Covid graph kept shooting up. \u201cEvery mall is doing its bit, from thermal screening to ensuring social distancing, fumigation, disninfectionof all the touch points. We will ensure the regimen continues,\u201d he said.
Customers largely behaved responsibly but there are areas of concern. Sudarshana Gangulee of Mani Square said while some adhered to distance markers on elevators and escalators, some moved in close proximity in other places. At South City, some customers were turned away for carrying big bags that were disallowed. <\/div>\n