9pm closure cuts retail sales by 42%

Footwear saw one of the sharpest drops, from 85 to 38. The survey further found that the share of retailers rating their overall sales as good fell from 79% before the rule to 34% now, while those reporting high profitability dropped from 67% to 26%.

The share seeing heavy evening footfall between 4pm and 8pm halved from 63% to 32%. A head of e-commerce at a footwear and apparel brand said 40% to 50% of a day's footfall comes between 7pm and 9pm. The rule was meant to save energy, but the survey found little proof.

While 56% of retailers said the goal was achieved, only 41% saw their own utility bills fall. In Punjab, Islamabad and Balochistan, where the 9pm rule is still in force, the figure was just 31%.

Even retailers who believe the rule saved energy reported daily transactions falling from 108 to 50. Half of the 300 retailers interviewed oppose the rule and 32% support it. Opposition rises to 54% among owners, who set trading hours.

Among retailers who believed energy goals were met, only one in five wanted the rule to continue unchanged. Another 57% wanted the timings changed and 21% wanted the rule removed. Shops have adjusted.

About 73% now open earlier in the day, 34% have started or expanded online sales and 12% have cut staff. A footwear executive warned against assuming customers have moved online. Consumers are divided.

Of 1,046 people surveyed, 35% support early closing, 33% are neutral and 32% oppose it. But 37% said their shopping experience worsened, against 23% who said it improved. Some 53% said finding time to shop has become harder, while only 15% found it easier.

Shopping habits have shifted. Those preferring to shop after 8pm fell from 9% to 4%. Average monthly trips dropped from 9.4 to 8.7, but women cut back far more, from 7.2 to 5.8 trips, a fall of 19%, against 3% for men.

Neighbourhood shops gained ground, rising from 27% to 31% as the most used format, while malls slipped from 8% to 6%. People who rarely or never shop for leisure rose from 74% to 87%. The study also compared 15 countries.

Only Bangladesh, which has changed its closing time seven times since April, shuts shops early to save energy. Malls in most benchmark countries stay open until 10pm or later. Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, France and Dubai have cut power use through quotas, peak-hour tariffs and efficiency plans without ordering shops to close.

Stakeholders also criticised how the policy was made. Ten of the 25 key informants said traders were not consulted. "Until you take traders into confidence and develop policies in consultation with them, the situation will not improve," said the president of a market traders' association.

A senior executive at a national apparel chain said adjusting to new timings takes four to six weeks, and "by the time we adjust, they change it again". Ten informants said enforcement was uneven or heavy-handed.

Seven suggested later closing at 10pm to 11pm. Five proposed targeting energy directly, through solar power, electric vehicles and reducing power leakage. Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa lifted the rule on May 16, 2026. The fieldwork was conducted between August and September 2026 across 53 malls and markets in 10 cities, the survey added.