Street vendors are experiencing slow sales due to economic and environmental factors caused by climate change and COVID-19.
Despite the effects of COVID-19, Barbadian shoppers are crowding the popular Swan Street and Broad Street and standing in long lines to enter financial institutions, while street vendors experience slow sales and hardship.
On Monday, the Barbados Advocate visited Bridgetown to chat with local vendors about the upcoming Christmas season. With many people coping with unemployment and underemployment, sales for produce vendors have been disappointing.
In Cheapside, a vendor who requested anonymity explained that recently several economic and environmental factors have affected his revenue.
The vendor said one of the biggest challenges is a lack of seasonal vegetables and produce, including peas, corn, and nuts. The seller also revealed he lost $800 in beans due to spoilage and he is finding it difficult to get specific items to sell.
He acknowledged there is a decrease in customers, mainly overseas visitors and locals. He added that heavy rainfall is destroying crops, and pests and expensive herbicides are also contributing factors. The Cheapside vendor, who has been operating in the area for three years, said this is the worst period.
The vendor noted that more people are selling fresh produce in Bridgetown and around the island. With more vendors and fewer customers, the street seller said this is making it harder for City vendors to make a living. He argued that the high cost of local and imported products means that customers are more selective about what they shop for and where they shop.
Long bank lines and little social distancing in busy streets
While vendors in Cheapside, Palmetto, and Marhill Street are not seeing customers, merchants and shop owners in Swan Street are seeing more commercial activity. Shoppers are buying essential items, foods, cosmetics and household items. With the large crowds, there is little social distancing, but store owners continue to take temperatures and encourage customers to sanitise their hands. However, The Barbados Advocate observed that some dispensers in a few stores had little sanitiser in them.
On the main street, there was a hive of activity with long lines snaking around the buildings of the main banks and credit unions.