Shopkeepers: Customers just ask for the price, but don't buy anything

*This article was published on atolyebia.org, the Communication Platform of Atölye BİA (BİA Workshop).

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Not only the customers in Turkey are suffering from the high prices, but shopkeepers are also going through difficult times.

bianet interviewed the shopkeepers in the Beyoğlu district of İstanbul, one of the most crowded marketplaces in the country.

Despite the high number of both local and foreign tourists visiting the region, shop owners in İstanbul's famous Taksim Square are also suffering from low sales.

R.K. is a shopkeeper who has been running a small buffet in Taksim for years.

"In the old days, this region used to be very crowded. However, very few people are coming nowadays to buy something. They only ask for the price but don't buy anything because the prices are too high," R.K. said.

"The tourists also started not trusting us because the prices get higher each day"

"The end of an era in Beyoğlu"

R.K. complained that since they have to increase the prices due to the raises in the products, the tourists prefer to buy from big markets instead of small buffets.

"Even though the ones that were buying most of the stuff in the past, the Iranian tourists, cannot afford to buy many things now," said another shopkeeper, M.K.

"They cannot buy as they used to in the past. The era of tourists is coming to an end in Beyoğlu."

'How many people can buy a cigarette for 40 Liras'

Another shopkeeper, A.A., said the following:

"We are expecting a new hike in the prices of cigarettes. Some say that the cheapest cigarette will be 40 Liras ( ≈ 2,5 dollars).In the past, people were able to buy 2-3 packages of cigarettes for 30 Liras. How many people can you find to buy a cigarette for 40 Liras now? They do not come here, they prefer to buy tobacco instead."

'It will get even worse'

"These are not the worst days, I mean it. At least some people still come and ask to buy something. But I do not think it will continue like that. One day we will not be able to find anyone to buy something." told to bianet another shopkeeper about future.

'29,360 shopkeepers went bankrupt at the beginning of 2022'

According to data from Trade Registry Gazette on Craft and Related Trades Workers, 29 thousand 360 shopkeepers went bankrupt in the first three months of 2022. (BS/SO/NÖ/TB/VK)