Festive East: Kalyan Jewellers fortifies its hyperlocal & customer outreach strategy

With Dussehra/ Durga Puja festivities beginning, the country is in the throes of festive fervour. After no Dussehra/ Durga Puja celebrations last year due to the pandemic, consumers and brands are looking at a return to markets with a vengeance. With the vaccination drive gathering momentum and most of the COVID-19 restrictions lifted, there is a general air of optimism. Offices, market places, educational institutions, malls and cinema halls – all have now opened, giving people a sense of return to normalcy.

Like the rest of India, the East and North-East markets are in a resurgent mood. Durga Puja is the biggest festival in West Bengal and Tripura and is also celebrated extensively in Assam and other parts of the North-East. Markets are seeing the return of shoppers, and some marketers see a revenge shopping trend gaining precedence. Amid COVID-29 protocols, the shopping frenzy has started and will only increase in the coming days. Experts believe that this is not just revenge shopping, but also a re-assertion and reclaiming of a life that one was living before the pandemic struck.

This festive season, Adgully turns the spotlight on the East and North-East markets and is speaking to a cross-section of brands, marketers and market experts to gauge the mood of the shoppers and brand sentiments.

In conversation with Adgully, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers, speaks about how the jewellery sector is gearing up to meet festive demand this year, how the company is strengthening its omni-channel strategy and making the ‘phygital’ model more seamless, and more.

What kind of sentiments do you see in the East market during this festive season? Are these sentiments close to the pre-COVID levels?

The organised segment has been experiencing strong tailwinds over the last 3-4 quarters, driven largely by the changing customer preferences to shop at showrooms that take adequate safety precautions such as social distancing, sanitization, staff vaccinations, etc. As a result, this financial year, the industry is witnessing an unprecedented shift of demand from unorganised to organised jewellery sector and Kalyan Jewellers has been a large beneficiary of this shift.

Gold has always been a preferred saving option among Indians and in the post COVID-19 era, it has also emerged as the safest and most lucrative long-term asset. We are positive and highly optimistic that the festive season sales will also see positive momentum based on these trends. We believe the pace of demand recovery will continue to speed up and expect this to continue throughout the festive and wedding season.

How are you planning your strategy for online and offline sales? What kind of footfalls are you expecting during this festival?

At Kalyan Jewellers, we have been focusing on creating a holistic ecosystem, thereby strengthening our omni-channel strategy and making the ‘phygital’ model more seamless. For over 5 years, we have been making consistent investments in developing and leveraging technology to offer convenient solutions to customers when it comes to purchasing jewellery or investing in gold, which has emerged as the safest and most lucrative long-term asset.

We have been witnessing a renewed interest among youngsters, who are looking to make systematic investments in the yellow metal. The introduction of our digital gold service in partnership with Augmont aims to provide these consumers with a safe, easy and reliable method to purchase 24-karat pure gold digitally. Another unique initiative launched by the company was the LIVE video shopping facility, which has been consistently receiving a phenomenal response from customers as it allows them to browse through and purchase jewellery at the comfort of their homes.

The 3rd quarter of the financial year is one of the most important phases for the jewellery industry with the arrival of the festive season, followed by peak wedding season. With gold prices dipping, the market response this Diwali is expected to be positive. We are hopeful that Dhanteras and Diwali will be favourable, with customers looking at buying jewellery not just as an investment, but also because it is an annual tradition practiced during this time of the year.

The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in a dynamic market scenario. Until now, the market response has been resilient with millennial consumers opting for small-ticket purchases, while we are witnessing a large number of seasoned shoppers who are going for big ticket purchases to reap benefits of the fall in gold prices. The customer footfalls at showrooms across the country are witnessing a positive upward momentum, which is expected to continue throughout the festive season.

Any specific campaign strategies planned for the festival season? What kind of discounts and offers have you come up with for your customers this year?

With multiple region-specific festivals coming up before the occasion of Diwali, we aim to follow a hyperlocal product and customer outreach strategy this season. As part of this, we plan to widen our product portfolio with multiple region-specific jewellery collections that will cater to the distinct needs of our customers from various communities. Also, we have announced a range of festive cash back offers, enabling customers to maximise the value of their purchases. We have planned a nationwide product launch, which will complement our existing offering as well strengthen the studded-range product portfolio. The new range of jewellery designs will be suitable for the upcoming festive season.

Furthermore, one of the biggest trends that has emerged out of the nationwide lockdown is a huge increase in the screen time spent by Indians across digital platforms. In line with this, brands have begun to align their marketing budgets towards digital, social media & OTT, especially when it comes to placing new content. At Kalyan Jewellers, we have introduced temporary changes to our media mix with a more digital-centric approach, which is going to be a key to making the most during this quarter.

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