By Abhimanyu Sharma
Sales at retail as well as online stores have reached an all-time high this Diwali season, and the momentum continues with several festivals expected in the coming weeks. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has announced that India’s retail markets have recorded a record trade of ₹3.75 lakh crore due to the Diwali festival, projecting additional cumulative sales worth ₹50,000 crore in the upcoming festivals of Govardhan Pooja, Bhaiya Dooj, Chhath Pooja, and Tulsi Vivah.
According to CAIT, the breakdown of festive spending during the Diwali season is as follows: 13% on food and grocery, 12% on textiles and garments, 9% on jewelry, 8% on electronics & mobiles, 8% on gift items, 6% on cosmetics, 4% on dry fruits, sweets, and namkeen, 4% on furnishings & furniture, 3% on home decor, 3% on Pooja Samagri & Puja Items, 3% on Utensils & Kitchen Appliances, 2% on Confectionery & Bakery, and the remaining 20% on automobiles, hardware, electrical, toys, and various other goods and services.
As per CAIT’s data, India’s retail markets had recorded sales of ₹2.75 lakh crore during last year’s Diwali season. The traders’ body claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for “vocal for local” resulted in a preference for goods made in India and led to a drop in the sale of Chinese goods worth ₹1 lakh crore.
The campaign “Bhartiya Utpad-Sabka Ustad” by CAIT received widespread support from consumers. A few days before Diwali, PM Modi had urged people via social media to be “vocal for local” in their shopping preferences during the festive season and to purchase locally made products.
Reporting the sale of flowers worth ₹5,000 crore and fruits worth ₹2,000 crore across India on Diwali, the traders’ body added that a significant impact of ODOP (One District One Product) & locally made goods was observed in sales during the festive season.
Amazon has reported that its Great Indian Festival 2023 witnessed the highest number of customer visits, transactions, new launches, orders, and savings compared to any previous year.
Pointing out that customers from 99.7% of pin codes across India shopped during the month-long celebrations, the online retailer said that 80% of the customers shopped from Tier-2 & 3 cities, and the most significant number of customer visits stood at an unprecedented 110 crore plus.
With over 65% of Amazon Prime members shopping from Tier-2 & 3 cities during the festive season, the online retailer noted a 35% rise in the receipt of sales by small and medium businesses.
Amazon witnessed the highest-ever number of sellers receiving a sale during the 2023 festive season, with over 750 sellers clocking sales in crores and over 31,000 sellers clocking sales in lakhs, the highest number ever noted during any festive period.
Over 15 lakh new customers shopped for the first time for their favorite brands across categories on Amazon, and an unprecedented 5,000 new products were launched by several brands across categories.