Consumer firms spot early signs of bright festive sales

Onam and Rakshabandhan showed rise in demand for apparel and consumer electronics

- Suneera Tandon

The return of consumers for in-store shopping during the 15 August holiday weekend, followed by a demand uptick during Onam as well as Rakshabandhan indicate a robust festival season, said apparel, watches and consumer electronics companies.

“This festive season should be good. One data point is 15 August online sales saw good tertiary sales. Not just in our category, but even the platforms themselves reported good growth compared to last year. So, I think that’s a positive sign. The only thing to watch out for is the August inflation number. Those are very short-term food supply related issues, and should reverse," said Anuj Poddar, managing director and chief executive of Bajaj Electricals, which sells fans, home appliances, lighting, and cookware under the Morphy Richards and Nirlep brands.

Last year, demand had been “weak", Poddar said. “November 2022 onwards demand had fallen. So I would say there is clearly a 80-90% chance of better festive season."