Rainy Chinatown Draws Fewer Customers, Stores Are Slashing Prices To Keep Up

Squeezing through crowds in Chinatown to get fresh mandarin oranges and pineapples during CNY is part of the festive experience for many families in Singapore.

This CNY season, however, streets are significantly quieter and fewer people are doing their festive shopping sprees at the Chinatown CNY market due to the rainy weather.

As a result, store owners are already resorting to cutting prices early into the festive season, just to ensure they clear their goods by the New Year.

Rainy weather sees dwindling crowds in Chinatown

While the rainy January might seem like a godsend for Singaporeans overwhelmed by the unbearable heat, store owners in Chinatown beg to differ.

The rain has reportedly led to smaller crowds in the once-lively market, leading to a 40% drop in sales compared to last year.

The current state of the market

According to Lianhe Zaobao, a store owner named Ms Huang revealed that business is tough due to an increase in rent. The rainy weather exacerbates her situation.

Slashing prices to clear their stocks by CNY

Store owners like Ms Huang have already lost money last year, and this might possibly happen again if the weather does not ‘cooperate’, reports Lianhe Zaobao.