Full Cart: Retail sector sees uptick in sales as festive season lifts consumer sentiment

The festive season seems to have lifted consumer sentiment. Shoppers increased their budgets to accommodate some discretionary expenses, looking beyond casual wear which had been the trend for the best part of the year. The upcoming wedding season and anticipated demand for winter clothing should also hold retailers in good stead.

Deepak Bansal, director at Cantabil Retail India, said consumers preferred to buy formal wear during Diwali. The company did brisk business, particularly in Gujarat and Rajasthan. In fact, consumers across the country also added winter wear to their shopping bags. “The second quarter of the current financial year saw better than expected demand recovery,” Bansal said.

For ethnic wear brand Biba, eastern and northern regions led the festive sales. Customers spent on semi-formals and formals. States like Maharashtra and Kerala, however, lagged in comparison and are yet to see recovery. Footwear retailer Metro Brands said consumption in metro and tier-I cities are witnessing a rebound. Diwali triggered heavy demand for its festive range of jootis, mojaris and kolhapuris.

Again, Gujarat and Rajasthan saw good recovery ahead of the festival, said Alisha Malik, VP, marketing and e-commerce. The company claims footfalls increased by more than 200% compared to the initial unlock months. Sales, in general, have been picking up every week amid the festive season. The firm also logged heavy bookings in the east during Durga Puja, said Malik.

Beauty retailer Nykaa said there has been a consistent improvement month on month in terms of footfalls and revenues in most of its physical stores. The brand aims to touch 100% of the pre-Covid revenue levels by December.

“With big-brand launches such as Charlotte Tilbury as well as cult favorites like Lime Crime, and more to come in the next couple of months, we are observing a big boost in the makeup category in the October-December quarter,” a company spokesperson said.

Aarti Ahuja, head, marketing at TCNS Clothing that owns brands like W and Aurelia said there has been a visible spike in business during the last two weeks of the festive season. Consumer expenses were not just restricted to formal wear but were seen across categories. Ahuja said there has been a better response from smaller towns in terms of revival and demand generation and some of them even managed to reach the pre-covid levels.