After a tepid Lohri-Pongal, will Republic Day offers buoy brand sales?

It seems the sale season now remains all round the year as marketers leave no occasion untapped to boost sales by offering attractive discounts. Over the years, we have seen marketers increasingly leverage national holidays to conduct sale offers, apart from the annual festive season periods. Hence, we have started seeing national events such as Republic Day and Independence Day being converted into sale periods by brands of all hues, as well as e-commerce platforms.

While 2020 was a subdued year due to the pandemic, consumers, marketers and brands are looking to make up for lost time in 2021. The first festival period of 2021 – Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan, Pongal, Bihu – was a tepid affair for brands. Will Republic Day herald a revival for this year?

Already, we are seeing announcements of sales and discounts for Republic Day 2021. Amazon’s Great Republic Day is taking place from January 20 to 23; Flipkart has its Big Saving Days sale from January 20-24; Myntra has called its offer as Right to Fashion Sale, which is on from January 20 to 24. Big discounts are also expected from FMCG, grocery and electronic brands.

According to industry reports, the supply was less than the demand and, therefore, not much of discounts could be offered during the festive season in 2020. Also, after the festive season the demand levels have gone down and leveraging Republic Day is one way to deplete stocks by offering high discounts. With the streamlining of supply chains, the availability of products will not be a challenge, unlike what marketers and consumers had to face during the festive season last year.

Adgully reached out to a few brands to understand on their plans for the 72^nd Republic Day. For consumer durables, Republic Day is a critical event and is seen as a precursor to consumer demand trends for the year ahead.

Speaking on the Republic Day sale, Pooja Baid, Business Lead - Personal Care, Philips Indian Subcontinent, remarked, “The year 2021 is even more special as the country gears up to put COVID-19 behind itself and resume normal life. We anticipate that the whole industry would be putting their best foot forward to capitalise on this event. To mark this occasion, Philips has put together very attractive offers for our consumers across key categories. In an interesting shift, offers this year focus not on discounts, but on providing holistic solutions for the consumers. For instance, for our Male Grooming range, we have partnered with a Woke toiletries brand and have created a ‘Beard Care Kit’ that puts together beard grooming products along with a Philips One Blade to provide a complete beard grooming solution to the consumer. Similar partnerships have been created across other segments also and we are confident consumers will appreciate the move.”

Livpure sleep, a leading sleep and wellness solution provider, has announced a massive Republic Day sale. The exclusive sale will be live between January 18 and 29, 2021, and will feature exciting discounts on Livpure’s top of the line sleep and wellness products. Speaking on the offers, Pritesh Talwar, CEO, Livpure, said, “We are thrilled to announce these discounts on all of our sleep and wellness products ahead of the country’s 72^nd Republic Day. We believe that these discounted prices will be a great impetus for our consumers to invest in ideal and innovative sleep solutions and experience the multiple benefits of restful and healthful sleep. We are looking forward to a massive response to the sale, which will ultimately bring us closer to our goal of letting India awaken to good health through ample rest.”

Like in the past, e-commerce platform Grofers has also come out with their Republic Day offers. Speaking to Adgully, Prashant Verma, VP - Marketing, Grofers, informed, “We conduct our flagship ‘Grand Orange Bag Days’ (GOBD) sale twice a year – around Republic Day and Independence Day. As a brand that promises lowest prices on groceries, we are already better placed to be the first choice for value-conscious customers during these sales. This GOBD, we have made the routine of buying groceries more enjoyable and exciting by giving a ‘100% guaranteed inaam’ on every order, besides various blockbuster deals and the lowest prices. Over 50 lakh guaranteed big and small items such as cars, bikes, washing machines, smartphones, power banks, headphones, pressure cookers, dinner sets, glass bowls, and container sets are up for grabs as a guaranteed inaam on every order above Rs 1,800 in this edition.  Additionally, to provide more value to our customers, our sale is live for 11-days instead of the usual 9-days as seen in previous editions.”