The Independence Day long weekend has retailers cheering as they not only saw discounted stock move but also witnessed a lot more fresh merchandise flying off the shelves.
Consumer electronics were also in demand during the long weekend, as easy monthly instalments along with steep discounts lured buyers to flock to stores.
Independence Day and Republic Day sales are now turning into events where shoppers typically wait to take advantage of discounted merchandise.
“We saw a good pick-up in sales, and value growth was around 10-12 per cent, while volume also grew by 5-6 per cent during the long weekend,” Nilesh Gupta, managing director at Vijay Sales, told Business Standard. He added that these days are now a buying festival for consumers, and the electronics chain had discounts running up to 45 per cent off.
Fashion and lifestyle retailers were also enthused to see fresh stock flying off the shelves, a trend that had already started to emerge since the start of August.
Apparel retailers have been offering discounts since the start of June, which were also advanced due to muted sales post the festive season, which continued well into June.
Retailers said that green shoots in demand were starting to show in June, and the pace picked up in August.
While stores had started to bring down the display of discounted items, retail chains saw around 60 per cent of fresh stock flying off the shelves.
“Close to 60 per cent of our sales were fresh stock during the long weekend, which is 10-15 per cent higher compared to July,” said Devarajan Iyer, chief executive officer (CEO) of Lifestyle.
Iyer added that like-for-like growth was in single digits and the overall growth stood at double digits during the long weekend. “The entire month of August is doing well for us,” he said, adding that growth was strong across markets.
Pepe Jeans also saw 60 per cent of its fresh merchandise in higher demand, which was 35-40 per cent higher than during the End of Season Sale (EOSS). “The trend has been up for the entire long weekend, while there were some disruptions on Saturday in some malls, the overall trend still remains intact, as we saw double-digit value growth,” said Manish Kapoor, CEO at Pepe Jeans India.
Footfall at malls also saw a rise. Infiniti Mall, which has two malls in Mumbai, saw 15-20 per cent higher footfalls than regular weekends, which were otherwise stagnant in July due to heavy rains.
“We have witnessed a 5 to 8 per cent overall increase in consumption/sales in the mall across categories compared to EOSS in 2023,” said Gaurav Balani, DGM – marketing, Infiniti Mall.
First Published: Aug 18 2024 | 6:01 PM IST
 "India reiterates opposition to China’s Belt and Road Initiative at SCO meet | External Affairs Defence Security News")
 "Trade deficit eases to $20.8 bn in Sept amid geopolitical challenges | Economy & Policy News")
