Big Season For Small Business – Part 1
Published on: September 10th, 2018

billionloans Sales Team

What's Hot this Coming Festival Season

Festivals are huge moments in the cultural calendar. With festivals come a wide array of products ranging from fashion to food. Nothing can stop the Indian consumer from celebrating big festivals, in which shopping is an integral part! Festivals like Diwali and Dussera spell shopping sprees in India – everything from clothes, electronics, footwear, jewellery to automobile markets is deeply affected by these shopping trends. People love to indulge themselves and their loved ones during festivals.

Recent trends show home furnishing sales are trending up in the areas of home decor, kitchenware and furniture. Bedroom and dining room furnishing is continually improving at a rate to 6 to 7% year-over-year. Last year, two-wheeler makers also reported strong volumes during Navratri on prospects of a robust rural economy. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India reported sales increases of more than 30% during the period.

The earliest signs of buoyant festive sales become visible when ecommerce marketplaces, led by Amazon and Flipkart, start reporting their best-ever performances with special discount sales of their own, leading up to the festival season.

When it comes to electronics though, the clear winning category is mobile phones. In addition, there is strong demand for high-end television sets and other electronic goods as per last year's reports. The sales of LG Electronics India increased by 30% over the last Navratri-Dussehra season. Even consumers in smaller towns purchased high-end television sets and large-screen models such as 4K TVs that hitherto were limited to the big cities, according to Sony India's report.

Consumer giants like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Godrej Appliances have commented that consumers across the country, including those in smaller towns, are buying more premium products. Companies attribute the pronounced migration up the value chain to a good monsoon and availability of cheap financing options. Strong advertising by large retailers usually boosts demand and the festive season accounts for almost 40 per cent of annual sales for white goods.

Apart from large branded consumer goods, what is also trending today are organic and hand-made goods by small sellers. These personally carved handmade goods and handcrafted products such as diyas, decorative items, jewellery and eco-friendly Ganesha idols have managed to grab the attention of the environment-conscious consumer groups. Today, there is a huge range of such options for consumers to choose from.

Not that long ago, big brands were king and consumers defined themselves by the brands they used. Today, there is a savvy breed of consumers who want to be recognized for their individuality and value to society. This has given way to more non-conventional platforms for locally-made products, which also claim to be organic and healthier alternatives. As Ganesha Chaturthi is the first festival in the line-up, it is worth repeating that eco-friendly clay Ganesha idols have competed well against traditional Ganesha idols.

As your business gears up for the festival this year, 'organic' and 'healthy' are the two mantras to keep a tab on!