Zero downpayment, EMIs boost festival season sales across categories
MUMBAI: No-cost and zerodownpayment equated monthly instalment (EMI) schemes have helped boost festive season sales of consumer durables this year, retailers say. “Festive season has picked up and by the end of the sales, we will probably be up 10-15% (growth in sales year on year),” said Nilesh Gupta, MD of consumer durables retail chain Vijay Sales. “This is an incredible number given that we also had pre-GST sales.”
“All categories across the board have done well, although high-end television sets, including UHD (ultra HD) and 4K, have done extremely well,” Gupta said. “Laptop sales were a bit subdued.”
Gupta said the biggest contributor to sales growth were the EMI schemes that brands, retailers and banks had introduced for consumer durables purchases. “This idea of a zero downpayment EMI all came first from mobile phone brands, which were then extended to consumer durables. About 30-40% sales have come from EMI purchases.”
Electronic accessories makers have done brisk business via online sales. “We were 3-4 times of last year (in sales),” said Sumit Chauhan, head of the lifestyle business of Harman Kardon, the makers of audio accessories brands like JBL. “The online sales channels were exceptional for us.”
Fashion and accessories also enjoyed brisk sales growth despite having advanced endof-season sales right before GST was implemented. “Sales have picked up very well from last weekend and are overall 25-30% higher than last Diwali,” said Mukesh Kumar, senior vice-president of Infiniti Mall. “The biggest categories are fashion, gifting, footwear and ethnic apparel.”
“Post the kind of concerns and slowdown we have seen in the last 12 months, with demonetisation and GST, there was expectation that there will be revival of consumer demand during this (festive season) time,” Mayank Shah, category head of biscuits and chocolates at Parle Products Pvt. Ltd, said. “This has now happened. We have been grown by 10-12% (in sales, year-on-year) during the season,” he added.