After months of a discretionary slowdown, retailers across apparels, fashion, electronics and food & beverages have reason to cheer with the Independence Day Sales, which kicked off from Friday, drawing a good response from consumers.
A dozen-odd offline retailers, brands and restaurants that Fe spoke to say that the weekend of Friday to Sunday saw a sales uptick of at least 15-20% versus last year. While Monday and Tuesday, which is Independence Day and a national holiday, will only add to the sales momentum.
Most retailers expect to close this period (Friday to Tuesday) at about 25-30% in terms of sales growth versus last year, which is high, given that the last few months saw a moderation in sales due to inflationary pressures and weather uncertainty.
“A combination of factors have worked this Independence Day period. One is the pent-up demand that existed among consumers because many were cutting back on non-essential expenditure. Second is the offers, which are enticing. Third is the extended weekend,” Jaydeep Shetty, a Mumbai-based retail expert and consultant, said.
Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer of the Retailers Association of India (RAI), says that retailers are brimming with optimism and that this sale period could set the stage for a robust retail season starting mid-September. He says that retailers have built up their stock ensuring customers get attractive discounts and a wide array of choices across categories.
“The crowds thronging our stores is a relief after a difficult summer period,” says Nilesh Gupta, director at Vijay Sales, an electronics retailer that has stores in the west and north of India.
“I expect at least a 20-25% YoY sales growth between Friday and Tuesday led by discounts of up to 75% on some items, cashbacks, new launches and aggressive financing schemes,” Gupta says of his chain’s Mega Freedom Sale.
Rivals Croma and Reliance Digital have also lined up aggressive discounts of up to 50-70% on mobile phones, wearable devices and LED TVs for their I-Day Sales, industry executives said, to cash in on the momentum. Apparel retailers such as Shoppers Stop, Reliance Trends and Westside, on the other hand, are concluding their end-of-season sales with I-Day, offering heavy discounts, offers and promotions on products.
Cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad are seeing a sales growth of as much as 30-35% during the ongoing I-Day period at apparel chains as retailers drop prices by as much as 50-80% on western and Indian wear across men’s, women’s and kids’ categories.
Anurag Katriar, founder, Indigo Hospitality and trustee of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) says that footfalls at his five outlets in Mumbai have jumped by at least 30-35% as consumers step out to eat and fun. “The trend across fine-dining, casual dining and fast food is no different as the holiday mood sets in,” Katriar says.
The trend is no different in smaller towns and cities where apparel retailers such as V-Mart say that they have seen strong footfalls in their stores over the last few days.
“Sales growth should be at least 20-30% during this period versus last year when I-Day sales were hampered because of a discretionary squeeze that began setting in due to inflationary pressures,” Anand Agarwal, chief financial officer, V-Mart Retail, said.
Gupta says that the I-Day period could pave the way for the upcoming festive season, when the wedding season will also kick in. “The retail season is definitely looking up after a few difficult months. And I-Day sales have set the ball rolling,” he says.
* I-Day sales have seen discretionary categories take off
* This is coming after months of a discretionary slowdown
* Pent-up demand, lucrative offers, extended weekend contributing to I-Day sales
* Likely to set the stage for a robust retail season ahead