Gold sales muted but not a washout

Akshaya Tritiya didn’t end up as dud

Despite the lockdowns in key gold-buying states, Akshaya Tritiya was not a complete wash-out this year as it was the last year. The jewellery industry expects close to one-third of the usual sales to have happened this time.

Consumer sentiment remained muted and offline sales were severely affected due to lockdown in major cities and goldconsuming states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Further, the sentiments were affected by an uneasy air of fear.

According to P.R. Somasundaram, managing director, India, World Gold Council, there were certain markets that were still open and hence it was not a complete washout as last year.

“Many organised jewellers have adopted digital and omnichannel strategies to reach out to their consumers, learning from the lockdown experience of 2020. Coupled with decent pre-bookings before lockdown, these steps could redeem the festival from being a complete washout and present a slightly improved picture than last year,” he said.

He expects almost onethird of the usual Akshaya Tritiya sales to have happened this time. Usually, 20 to 30 tonnes of gold is sold during Akshaya Tritiya. Some of the organised players and online companies saw a good jump in digital buying. “In 2020 Augmont sold around 15 kg of Digi Gold on Akshaya Tritiya and in 2021 it has increased by almost 100 per cent to around 30 kg of gold. Gold coins and gold bars in the range of `3,000-4,000 was preferred by buyers this year,” said Ketan Kothari, director, Augmont.

Some of the jewellers saw good demand for gold coins that were booked on calls to be delivered postlockdown. However, the lockdown in almost all of the south Indian states affected the sales of some retail chains.

“Most markets in India remained closed and the overall sentiment was muted. Only 20 per cent of our showrooms were operational and they functioned under strict guidelines with reduced working hours. As expected, traction in these showrooms was minimal. It is not appropriate to compare this year’s Akshaya Tritiya with any of the pre-Covid years,” said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers.