Diwali shopping has been a much cherished part of celebrations. Cashing in on the perfect whether, queues of shoppers tug at bags and push through crowded markets. Be it new clothes or gifts for friends and relatives, everybody has something on their shopping list.
However, this year, as the country deals with the consequences of the implementation of GST and demonetisation, the story seems to have changed a bit.
People Decide to Spend Less
People are leaning towards spending less this festive season. According to InShorts – Ipsos Pulse of the Nation Diwali Poll, 40 percent of the surveyors have decided to spend less this Diwali, in comparison to last year.
The poll, which recorded the answers of around 39,000 people, says that those who are deciding to buy are leaning towards buying clothes and sweets, with 38 percent going for the option. 13 percent of people planned to buy gadgets and gizmos, 12 percent decided to spend their moolah on home renovation and furnishing, while a mere 3 percent planned on buying automobiles.
Overall Sales Take a Hit
The mood among people has had an obvious effect on sales across the country. According to Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), as much as 40 percent drop has been recorded in sales in markets across the country due to low footfall of consumers because of cash shortage.
The traders body, on Monday, said:
Markets across the country are gloomy, having a deserted look with very less festivity and less footfall of the consumers.
It also said that the slowdown is further multiplied by glitches in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which kicked in from 1 July. It added:
Confusion still prevails to a great extent which is more bothering to traders. Tax compliance of almost all taxes falls in this month only.
Online Sales Increase
However, the gloom in the overall market hasn’t translated into a lull in the online sector. According to a report in the Economic Times, consulting firm RedSeer says that e-commerce retailers including Flipkart and Amazon will generate sales of Rs 20,000 crore from 20 September to 20 October, this year. This is 50 percent higher than the figures from the same time, last year.
It added that Flipkart doubled its sales vis-a-vis last year.
The same report quoted Razorpay cofounder Harshil Mathur saying that digital transactions have risen by 50 percent this year.
A study by the smartphone app provider SwiftKey (part of Microsoft) showed, on Monday, that an increasing number of Indians are turning to their smartphones for Diwali shopping and sending money and gifts to loved ones.
According to the Swiftkey, more than two-thirds (70 percent) of respondents who polled said they will make most or all their Diwali-related purchases via their mobile devices this year.
Also, 36 percent said they plan to also gift money using their smartphone during the festival, while 30 percent said they are opting for virtual gift sharing.
Over 1,500 respondents across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Bengaluru were included in the study.
Gold Sales Soar
Gold sales, which were expected to be muted this year, saw a rise as well. The government’s move of pulling back its decision on the requirement of PAN card details for every purchase over Rs 50,000, did the trick.
The Economic Times report said that with the relaxation in KYC rules, jewelers have seen a 30 percent increase in sales. The report added that digital wallet company Paytm expects a five-fold increase in gold sales on its platform.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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