Festive season spend may dip by 33 pc this year; property, auto to bear the brunt

Consumer spending in the upcoming festive season is likely to drop by one-third compared to last year and the coronavirus impact may further add to the woes of local retailers, according to a survey by Localcircles.

Most of the consumers surveyed opined they want to buy small traditional items and gift packs online instead of going to market.

"With COVID-19, consumer spending in festive season 2020 is expected to get impacted by approximately one third in value in comparison to festive season 2019 with major decline expected in property, automobile and jewellery purchases," Localcircles founder and chairman Sachin Taparia said.

The survey covered over 65,000 respondents across more than 300 cities. Around 61 percent of consumers said they will spend on purchases in this festive season compared to 78 percent respondents in 2019.

Around 14 percent consumers said that they will spend between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 in the upcoming festive season, 44 percent between Rs 1,000-10,000 and only 3 percent said that they will spend more than Rs 50,000 for purchases.

Most of the consumers said that they will spend money on grocery and food supplies, 19 percent on white goods and appliances, 15 percent on smartphones and consumer electronics, 11 percent on home renovation and 8 percent on fashion and festive wear.

"Due to Covid-19, ecommerce is expected to see a major spike as the percentage of consumers that will use ecommerce as a primary channel for shopping is expected to rise from 27 percent last year to 51 percent this year," Taparia said.

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Around 80 percent of the consumers expressed interest in buying festival-related items from small businesses, emerging brands, weavers and artisans from ecommerce portals.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on many micro, small and medium enterprises who lost a major part of their business due to the various phases of lockdown, people staying indoors due to the risk of the virus, zero tourism, and far lesser exports. They would be hoping that the positive Navratri, Dussehra, and Diwali sentiments would increase their sales so that they could get back on their feet," the report said.