India Inc expects good consumer spending this festive season, pegs ad spend at Rs 25,000 crore: Report

While Indians saw two subdued festive season due to demonetisation in 2016 followed by the roll out of goods and services tax (GST) in 2017, this year it looks like consumer spending will be good. India Inc is expecting the same, which is why it is likely to spend Rs 25,000 crore on advertising, marketing and promotions during the festive season, according to an Economic Times report.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast good monsoon this year, which has fueled hopes of consumer-driven industries who are expecting buoyant spending.

Platforms like Amazon and Flipkart have already started pre-Independence Day sale attracting a huge number of consumers.

“The April-May-June quarter has been reasonably good. Consumer spending seems to have gone up and I think that has resulted in driving up the sentiments further,” said Madison World Chairman Sam Balsara.

And this time advertising and marketing will not be restricted to old platforms, digital too will be an important player.

“This year, some digital entertainment companies like Netflix, Amazon Prime are coming up. They are likely to spend during the festive season,” said Ashish Bhasin, CEO -South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network.

The festive season not only brings cheer to consumers, but to companies alike as it contributes 40 percent to annual sales. Hence, firms spend huge amounts on advertising to leverage from the biggest shopping opportunity of the year.