With the festive fervour kicking in across the nation, offline retailers from across the segments have reported a surge in sales as well as footfalls. Retailers such as Fabindia, Bata India, Vijay Sales, and Westside witnessed strong sales and footfalls in the week leading up to Durga Puja and Dussehra as consumers shopped for the approaching festivals.
“We are seeing strong recovery and incredible support for our brand from our community and are hoping to cross pre-pandemic sales numbers soon,” said Dipali Patwa, group head of brand and community, Fabindia.
The rapid vaccination drive combined with the ebbing of the second wave of the pandemic is aiding the retailers, who have been struggling with low sales and footfalls since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.
“With the reduction in Covid cases and ease in restrictions, customers are returning to the market with appropriate Covid protocols and precautions. Consumers across the country have started their festive shopping, and we have been witnessing a consistent increase in footfalls across our retail outlets,” said Gunjan Shah, CEO, Bata India.
According to a recent survey by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), retailers registered 96 percent recovery in sales in September as compared to 88 percent recovery in August. The segment has witnessed a recovery as compared to last year too and sales in the month gone by grew 26 percent in comparison to the same period last year, said survey.
Last year during the festive period in November, retailers had reported a 70 percent recovery in sales according to the RAI survey; however, retailers estimate to surpass the pre-pandemic levels this year.
“We expect a bumper Diwali, the best in the last 3 years,” said Nilesh Gupta, Director, Vijay Sales. Fabindia’s Patwa, too, indicated that the ethnic retailers might cross the pre-Covid numbers soon.
Festive months of October and November are the peak season for retailers and contribute about 30-40 percent of their yearly sales.
Consumers upgrade
Most retailers are reporting the trend of consumers upgrading themselves and are moving towards brands or even splurging more. According to Gupta of Vijay Sales, consumers are preferring an upgrade across all categories and the retailer has witnessed a rise of 15-20 percent in their average selling price (ASP) over last year.
Small town consumers are also increasingly buying branded products this time around.
“With travel being curtailed for the better part of the last year, there is now a new and emerging market for branded products in tier III and beyond towns. People are on the lookout for brands that offer sturdy, trustworthy, and contemporary products without having to step outside their hometowns,” said Shah of Bata India.
Categories in demand
Consumers are flocking to stores to buy appliances, gadgets, and apparel. Vijay Sales, for instance, is witnessing increased sales for large appliances as well as smartwatches.
Yogeshwar Sharma, Executive Director and CEO, Select Infrastructure, which runs Select CITYWALK shopping mall in New Delhi, said electronics, luxury watches, sports, apparel, and eyewear brands are clocking high sales this season. However, ethnic wear, gym wear, and kidswear are still lagging, he added.
Fabindia, which is witnessing a strong demand for products in the home furnishings category such as bedding, bath, decorative pillows, lamps, widow curtains, table linens and dinnerware and gifting products like candles, candle holders, photo frames expects the demand for ethnic wear for women to pick up before Diwali.
“Kids apparel is starting to pick up along with men’s ethnic wear. While women’s Indian wear is moving at a slightly slower pace, we are pretty sure it will catch up in the next few weeks,” said Fabindia’s Patwa.
In footwear, casual shoes continue to drive demand, reported Bata India, while formal shoes are yet to see a turnaround as most offices remain closed.
Earlier this month, jewellery retailers such as Kalyan Jewellers and Titan Company reported double-digit growth in the September quarter in their quarterly updates. Kalyan Jewellers logged 60 percent revenue growth in the second quarter for its India operations compared to a year ago. Titan Company, similarly, recorded 78 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth during the quarter for its jewellery business under the Tanishq brand. The company also reported robust recovery in other discretionary categories such as watches and wearables (73 percent YoY) and other businesses such as fragrances and ethnic retail.
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