Pre-Diwali footfalls and consumption patterns have given hope to even offline retailers of 20-30 per cent spike in sales.
“Despite the billion dollar sales happening on e-commerce sites, we do not see any direct impact on our physical stores. We had double-digit growth at our stores in the East and the South during Dussehra. The third quarter looks promising with Diwali being followed by the marriage season, and New Year festivities thereafter,” says Govind Shrikhande, Managing Director of Shoppers Stop. According to independent market research company Ipsos, eight in ten (81 per cent) consumers planned to shop at a retail store, while the remaining 19 per cent plan to shop through online marketplaces. Future Group owned Big Bazaar stood out as the preferred destination (41 per cent) for festival shopping.
Sales growth“The ticket size of sales has been going up in all categories across food, fashion, general merchandise, consumer durables, in all formats ranging from Big Bazaar to Home Town, with double-digit growth between 20-30 per cent in the build up to Diwali as compared to last year. While consumer sentiments are positive, we cannot afford to take the consumer for granted and have planned for the festival season in advance,” says Rajan Malhotra, President (Retail Strategy), Future Group.
The Ipsos survey further states that the planned shopping budget this Diwali is estimated at ₹7,232, with clothes topping the chart at 68 per cent of sales. Sweets & dry fruits (35 per cent), chocolates (24 per cent), footwear (24 per cent), mobiles (20 per cent), watches (17 per cent), bags, belts & wallets (14 per cent), perfumes & deodorants (12 per cent), sunglasses (10 per cent) and jewellery (8 per cent) are other popular categories.
Tata Sons-promoted Infinity Retail, which runs the Croma stores, is also witnessing an uptake in sales on the back of aggressive financing options and improved consumer sentiment. “This festival season, we expect growth upwards of 20 per cent, with footfalls increasing by 12-13 per cent over last year. We are willing to pick up the first EMI instalment for products like Household appliances and televisions during the festival season,” says Ritesh Ghosal, Chief Marketing Officer, Croma.
With Diwali being pushed back to the month of November, winter wear apparel is also expected to get a boost for retailers like Marks & Spencer. “Its going to be a good a Diwali for us as it has been slightly delayed this year. Since we sell only apparel, we expect winter wear to sell and also expecting gifting opportunities to pick up during the season,” claims Venu Nair, Managing Director, Marks & Spencer.