Retailers and brands reported a 5-10% sales growth during this year’s Independence Day sales compared to last year, driven by improved sentiment, premiumisation, and a slight recovery in volume or units sold for categories like smartphones and laptops, according to industry executives.
Urban Consumers Boost Premium Product Sales:
While consumers in cities and large towns eagerly purchased premium products, continuing a three-year trend, demand in rural areas remained subdued this month.
“Consumer sentiment seems to have improved slightly compared to earlier this year. We anticipate a 5-10% growth in sales, though volume growth may be limited to grab-and-go categories like mobile phones and laptops,” said Nilesh Gupta, Director at Vijay Sales, a leading consumer electronics retail chain in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad.
Devaranjan Iyer, CEO of departmental store chain Lifestyle, noted that consumer sentiment turned positive in the first two weeks of August, and with the long Independence Day weekend, the growth is expected to continue. “We anticipate better performance than last year. Although April and May were challenging, sales have picked up since July. We expect this momentum to carry through the festive season,” he said.
The Independence Day sales are India’s third-largest sales period, following the festive season and Republic Day, serving as an indicator of demand for the upcoming festive season, which begins with Onam and concludes with Diwali.
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Brands and E-Commerce Platforms Offer Special Discounts:
Companies such as Samsung, Reliance Retail, LG India, Vijay Sales, Marks and Spencer, Croma, Puma, and Sony launched special consumer offers and discounts for Independence Day, many of which began 7-10 days in advance. E-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart also joined in, kicking off their freedom sales in the first week of August.
Super Plastronics, an online-focused television manufacturer holding the India license for brands like Kodak, Thomson, and Blaupunkt, has seen a 30% sales increase this month compared to the same period last year. CEO Avneet Singh Marwah noted that sales have picked up since July, driven by online promotions from Amazon and Flipkart. “However, rural areas are still lagging,” he added.
The government announced earlier this week that India’s retail inflation dropped to a five-year low of 3.54% in July, with food inflation also easing. The industry anticipates that these macroeconomic factors, coupled with a normal monsoon, will spur a revival in consumption during the festive season, including in rural markets.
Demand across categories like electronic products, smartphones, apparel, and fast-moving consumer goods remained subdued from January to June this year.
