THE past month has seen annual Ramadan bazaars, usually a financial bonanza for traders, experiencing a major crunch.
Apart from clashing with the start of the new school term that forces parents to prioritise expenditure, a new tectonic shift had affected sales: traditional festive traders are losing ground to e-commerce portals.
Apparently, Aidilfitri's big spenders decided that shopping at a crowded and congested expanse wasn't worth their time to browse for baju Melayu, kuih and biscuits, ketupat and rendang, and assorted festive must-haves.
Newcomers to the festive merchandising had fully capitalised on their social media nous to move merchandise, eating up by as much as 60 per cent into the long-term sales of bazaar traders.
Well, what can we say? Welcome to the depressed club long annihilated by the Internet. Newspapers and magazines have shrunk or gone bust in the last 15 years, major bookstores have closed, and shopping outlets and supermarkets are forced to launch online branches just to garnish sales.
Taxi drivers have no choice but to join the e-hailing service if they want to get by. Ramadan bazaars may have seen better days and soon, the only customers patronising the stalls will be oldies with no idea of what an app is.
But fret not: enterprising bazaar traders can galvanise their business by setting up their own online presence. Granted, many traders are not online savvy, but the ones who do can easily morph into a social media retail outfit.
Yes, online competition is a cutthroat venture, especially from older and more experienced entrepreneurs, but how much different is that from their immediate competition — stalls next door.
Traders could also seek government technical assistance or they could hire teenage wunderkinds with the wizardry to rock their Internet ubiquity.
Traders will soon learn and understand why merchandise sold on social media are far cheaper than the ones they sell at the bazaars. Foremost, no overheads and no palm-greasing in the scramble for lots and spots.
That by itself saves a fortune in operating costs.
Then there's the convenience of operating from home, which will provide more time to explore other business opportunities still untapped by the Internet.
All they have to do is ensure a permanent storage lot for their inventory and raw materials, which is usually their homes, and establish a reliable delivery system, either an e-hailing service or their own transport.
For these small operators, the transition to the Internet is natural, like all businesses rocked by the likes of Google and Facebook. Traders should avoid enlisting opportunistic politicians to champion their fading cause.
They should also repel politicians attempting to manipulate traders into organising an online political association. Past examples of such interference of various social media services' participants not only killed productivity, but also self-worth and initiative.
If they have to, at least consult the specialists, like the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, who can ensure that the bazaars get an even-handed representation and protection.
