Kochi is a shopper's delight with a wide range of shops to cater to the needs of the tourists. Among Kochi's best buys are metalware, camel-bone carvings and wood carvings, articles made of coconut shell, bamboo cane, embroidered screwpine mats; grass mats; and several other types of handicrafts. Jewellery, readymade garments, and ethnic hand-woven textiles follow closely.

Coconut is an intrinsic part of the Malayalee way of life and dominates the locally practiced crafts. You can shop for delightful articles of daily use carved from coconut shells. Besides baskets, floor and table mats and carpets made from the husk of the coconut fruit (coir) are popular item amongst shoppers. Sleeping mats and handbags made from the kova grass are also available. Besides exquisitely carved stone sculptures, inlaid wood furniture and a variety of brass statues are worth buying.

Shops to find Indian Arts and Curios are:
Cochin Gallery, JewTown Road, offers various collectibles.
Surabhi, M.G Road, is managed by the state’s Handicraft’s Society. It has on offer, a wide selection of locally made handicrafts.
Kairali, is run by the Government and has a fair collection of Kerala handicrafts and curios.
Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, the showroom of Khadi Village Industries at Pallimukku, M.G. Road
The major shopping centres are located on the M.G Road, Broadway and Marine Drive and Jew Town in Mattancherry. Kadavanthara and the adjacent Vytilla Junction are also fast developing into shopping centres.

M.G.Road
The Mahatma Gandhi Road (M.G road) earlier known as the Seventy-feet Road, cuts across the heart of the city. You get everything on this long street from finest clothes to exquisite diamond ornaments. Outlets of various brands such as Van Heusen, Arrow, Lee, Bennetton, Allen Solly, Louis Philippe and leading Indian brands such as Park Avenue, Only Vimal are located on this road. Graffiti at Hotel Abad Plaza is a good option for casuals with reasonable prices. If you are on the look out for ethnic clothing, M.G Road is the place to shop.
Seematti, Jayalakshmi and Parthas are among the biggest textile show rooms of the city. You would be amazed at the variety of ethnic clothes available at these places. Variety of sarees and churidars are available to choose from.
M.G Road houses some excellent jewellery shops selling traditional, ethnic and modern jewellery. Allapattu House, Alukkas, Josco and Bhima here offer a mind boggling collection of gold jewellery. If you like diamonds, Kirtilals and Oyester Bay are the shops to visit.

Convent Road, branching westwards from the M.G road, is the place to hunt for ethnic wear and fashion accessories for the trendy and brand-conscious. The Esplanade building in the Convent Junction has showrooms selling ready to wear International brands.

Marine Drive
The Marine Drive on its left side has the lively GCDA commercial complex and Pioneer Towers, which houses a variety of showrooms selling a range of wares from perfumes, watches, bags & suitcases, music cassettes and CD's, textiles to electronic goods. The Penta Menaka complex opposite to GCDA complex has a variety of duty free shops selling mainly electronic items and mobile phones. The shops in these complexes usually open at 10am and close around 8pm on weekdays and remains closed on Sundays. 

Broadway
A narrow street in Kochi called Broadway is another shopping area. This street is very crowded but you find some amazing bargains here. If you are looking out to buy spices, it could be a good place.

Ernakulam Market
The Northern end of Broadway is the Ernakulam Main Market selling fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, meat.

Kadavanthara and Vytilla
Kadavanthara junction half a km east of Kochi has a number of shopping malls and showrooms including Varkeys, The big Graffiti etc. Vytilla has its own shopping malls with V-Mart supermarket and Kemco selling branded clothes, luggage, and leather bags and belts etc including international and local brands and Wardrobe with casuals for youngsters. Kemco and Wardrobe are seconds sale outlets which offers designerwear and branded clothes at reasonable prices. Other such outlets include Raymond Seconds and Priceless.

Jew Town
Explore the lanes and bye-lanes of Fort Kochi, and Mattancherry. The quaint little shops around Jew Town offer some fabulous bargains, especially in antique furnishings such as a wide variety of beautiful, coloured glass lamps from Belgium..  The area around Mattancherry is a major centre of spice trade and curio shops.

Music stores
Sargam, GSS Complex, Convent Road (tel 0484/374216), stocks the best range of music tapes in the state, mostly Indian (Hindi films, and lots of Malayalam devotional music), with a couple of shelves of Western rock and pop. Music World, MKV Building, MG Road (tel 0484/355632), is Kochi's answer to a music superstore with Western pop, classical, compilations, world music, and filmi music. Sound of Melody, DH Road, near Ernakulam Junction station, also has a good selection of traditional South Indian and contemporary Western music, while Sea Breeze, 248, GCDA Complex, Marine Drive (tel 0484/363536) is an upmarket shop with a strong emphasis on Western music.

Musical instruments
Manual Industries, Bannerji Road, Kacheripady Junction, Tel 0484/352513 is the best for Indian classical instruments. For traditional Keralian drums, ask at Thripunitra bazaar.

Photography
City Camera, Lovedale Building, Padma Junction, M.G Road, repairs cameras; Krishnan Nair Bros, Convent Road, stocks the best range of camera film, including black-and-white, Kodak and Fuji, and professional colour transparencies. Several others are located along MG and Shanmugham roads.