With barely a few days to Christmas, some traders in Lagos State have expressed mixed reactions over the level of patronage, as rising costs and cautious shoppers shape the festive market mood.

Some traders at Balogun Business Association (BBA) Market and Oyinlola Ifelodun Market in Festac Town on Monday said that the festive rush had yet to fully set in.

A clothing trader at BBA, Joy Nwachukwu, said sales improved for her this year compared to the same period in 2024.

“As of this time last year, I didn’t have many customers coming to buy, but this year has been better. Irrespective of the price increase, they’re still buying,” she said.

A vendor of children’s clothing at Oyinlola Ifelodun Market in Festac Town, Tutu Hunpe, said that this year’s festive shopping patterns changed from previous trends.

“We are noticing a marked increase in adults purchasing items for personal use, rather than prioritising children’s clothing. It appears economic pressures are influencing parental spending decisions,” she noted.

Also, a shoe vendor at BBA Market, Chukwudi Obi, said shoppers appeared more focused on self-gratification and personal pleasure in 2025.

He said, “Most of the sales I’ve made are solely for adults. It seems a lot of people are focusing more on enjoying this Christmas than they did last year.”

Many other traders, however, decried low patronage and unrealistic bargaining of their wares by shoppers.

Blessing Dikeh at BBA lamented that many potential buyers walked away without making purchases after being told the price of goods.

“They just call their prices and leave.
The prices they call are extremely low, far below what I can accept,” she said.

Bolaji Disu at the Oyinlola Ifelodun Market, who shared a similar experience, attributed it to the rising costs of goods from the wholesalers.

She said customers usually had the misconception that the rising cost of goods was their doing rather than the wholesalers.

“We can’t sell our items at the same amount we bought them for,” she said.

In the decorations segment, a Christmas ornaments trader, Joy Chidinma, noted that though prices had remained stable, demand was still low.

“Prices of Christmas lights haven’t increased much compared to last year, but sales is slow,” she said.

(NAN)