One of the most popular destinations on the trader circuit is the "cash and carry," massive warehouses where forklift trucks cart pallets of household staples and items needed to run a business. Aisle after aisle of bargain-priced goods tower several stories tall.

Hair stylists can fill oversized shopping carts with braids, perm solutions, stand-up hair dryers and cash register rolls.

Cash is usually the only method of payment, with big-order customers the only exception to a strict no-credit policy.

Market players dub a clutch of such stores on the fringe of the city the Bermuda Triangle, a play on the shape and powerful attraction for customers.

The boom has created its own set of challenges.

Out-of-towners carrying large wads of cash are vulnerable targets for robbery in a city with one of the highest crimes rates in the world.

A lack of low-cost accommodation and the near absence of a reliable local transit system complicates their stay. Some shoppers are unaware of a tax refund process at the border, where they face long queues or a night-time stay if they arrive after closing time.

A four-hour wait at land crossings is common as customs officials search for illegal items and check receipts to charge duty on purchases.

"As time goes on it becomes more strenuous," said trader Mary Sibanda, 40. The single mother-of-three sat amid a mountain of shopping bags as she waited for a bus to Zimbabwe, where a political and economic crisis has left consumers battling frequent shortages of food, fuel and foreign exchange.

For almost a decade she has travelled the route weekly to stock her table in a shantytown market. "It's the only way to survive," she said.

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