Over 15,000 businessmen of the city have registered with Ahmedabad Shopping Festival – 2019 (ASF - 2019) as the registration came to an end on Sunday evening. Organizers say, now the focus is on providing discounts to the consumers. Businessmen from advertisement and publicity, art and craft, automobiles, beauty and wellness, garments, eye-ware, furniture, food and beverages, gems and jewelry, handicraft, restaurants, eateries, clubs, medical stores, mobile and electronics, sports and fitness as well as tour and travel are among those who have registered for the 12-day festival beginning January 17. The festival aims to bring customers to the shops, as the trend of e-commerce has taken a severe toll on traditional shopkeepers. In addition to discounts, buyers will also get lucky draw coupon for their purchases of Rs 500 or above. Business associations representing restaurants and eateries as well as sweets and namkeen have already announced discounts. Shopkeepers are also offering discounts as per their discretion. "The registration is closed with effect of 4:00 pm. There are more than 14,000 registration and the final tally is likely to cross 15,000 mark. We are meeting shopkeepers to convince them to offer discounts. We have also set up help-desks for street vendors as they are not tech-savy. Some brands are offering up to 40 per cent discount," said Shailesh Patwari, head of 18-member committee set up to accelerate registration and sponsorship for the festival. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it on January 17. Team of ASF would visited traditional shopping hubs of CG Road and Manek Chawk, which will be illuminated from Sunday night onward in order to encourage shopkeepers and buyers to hook on to ASF. Jayendra Tanna, president of Vibrant Gujarat Shopping Festival Organizing Committee said that shopkeepers have already started putting their offers on the mobile app of ASF. "We expect that everyone with offer discounts by January 17. Shopkeepers will also be able to modify schemes on daily basis in order to lure customers," said Tanna.

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