It seems to be raining deals this festive season. While Flipkart and Amazon kicked off their festive sales starting October 10, offline players are also gearing up to offer interesting deals for consumers.

But, will the consumer spend this festive season? A pre-festive online survey conducted by Local Circles, which polled 38,000 people across metros, tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and even rural markets, showed that rising fuel costs and mounting household expenses may dent festive demand.

Up to 67 percent of the people polled indicated that buying electronics and home appliances are a much lower priority this year, and spending will be restricted to just the basics.

However, retailers like Vijay Sales and Croma are confident that this festive season will be better than last year. Companies as well as retailers are expecting at least 10 to 20 percent growth in demand this festive season.

“We are confident that we will not be affected by these changes and are expecting a good festival demand. Last year, Diwali was good but not very good owing to the pre-Goods and Services Tax (GST) sales. This year there has been no such event so we are expecting a 15-17 percent increase in sale this year," said Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Vijay Sales.

Smartphones, refrigerators and television are expected to be the top three high selling categories this festive season.

Companies are also hoping that new product launches will help spike demand in these categories. White good maker Godrej Appliances has also planned premium launches this season.

"About 40 models are getting launched and that should sustain our growth momentum. We will be making launched in categories like refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves," said Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice president, Godrej Appliances.

Price hikes owing to rising raw material costs, a weak rupee and the slew of duty hikes implemented by the government are likely to be passed on only after the festive season ends so as to not sent festive demand.

First Published:Oct 9, 2018 8:26 PM IST