If you thought Akshaya Tritiya was all about gold coins, diamond hoops and platinum rings, this season there are more options — from high-end cars and houses to computers and even designer sandals.

It's not only the jewellery retailers who are geared up for the “auspicious” occasion, car and computer dealers, real-estate developers, hypermarkets and footwear retailers are joining the season's frenzy as they find yet another “excuse” to entice consumers.

Discounts

While Hyundai dealers are urging customers to “bring home good luck and happiness” with an i10 on Akshaya Tritiya with offers of free insurance, extended warranty and exchange bonus, a Bangalore-based Skoda dealer is giving discounts ranging from Rs 10,000-35,000 for corporates. The ‘HP World' computer retail chain is also dangling the discount card on the latest range of HP Pavilion notebooks.

At Big Bazaar, the discounts are not just on gold jewellery, but also extend to electronics, furniture and mobile phones. Customers who buy a Blackberry smart-phone also get a chance to win a trip to Egypt.

Says Mr Raghu Viswanath, Managing Director, Vertebrand Management Consulting, “Ever since the slowdown, consumers have become choosier and do not make irrational impulsive purchases anymore. This has forced retailers to find new excuses and occasions to get the customer to buy.”

Trend changes

Initially, Akshaya Tritiya was considered an auspicious occasion to buy gold.

Over a period of time, it expanded to include platinum and diamonds. Today, the day has come to be associated with wealth and flaunting one's status, observes Mr Viswanath. And if that is the case, then why not cars and houses?

Says Mr Mohammed Aslam, Jt. City Head – Pune, Jones Lang LaSalle India, a real-estate consultancy firm, “The property market in many Indian cities sees increased activity during festivals like Akshaya Tritiya . The positive sentiments associated with the occasion often motivate fence-sitting buyers to take the plunge. And developers capitalise on these sentiments via increased marketing efforts.”

But can non-jewellery players witness the kind of sales jewellers get?

“Good footfalls and an initial sales spike will be there thanks to the curiosity element. But there may not be a substantial sales increase,” says Mr Viswanath.

Car deliveries

The initial euphoria certainly seems to be there, going by the pre-booking numbers. According to a sales manager at an Advaith Hyundai showroom in Bangalore, 150 car deliveries are scheduled for the Akshaya Tritiya period (May 5-7).

Vinayak Cars, a Skoda dealer in Bangalore, has bagged 15 orders from corporates such as Infosys, Wipro and IBM in the last 30 days when it announced the festival offer.

A salesperson at an HP World branch said consumer enquiries have been good.

Will Friday see more interest around cars and villas or will that be saved for jewellery?

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