High prices reduce festive spirit: ASSOCHAM Study

In a recent ASSOCHAM Survey on ``High prices reduce festive spirit`` conducted under aegis of ASSOCHAM clearly found, Majority of respondents plan to spend less amount on this festive seasons as the prices have gone up (51%), value of saving has gone gown (20%), 17% are saving for big purchase and rest 12% said that EMI have increased. Study further reveals that Over 54% of the respondents will buy only on sale or discounts, 27% will spend less on sweets, clothes etc., 12% will buy fewer gifts, 5% will buy recycle gifts and the rest 2% will buy a group gift.

 

ASSOCHAM Secretary General, D S Rawat adds, “Any further tightening of monetary policy will aggravate the financial condition seriously, of a large number of people. There is a strong case to pause any rate increase by RBI as the growth momentum has already hit the manufacturing sector and compressed demand appreciably”.

Where most respondents plan to cut down on personal expenses or go bargain hunting to keep their festive budgets in control, only a small percentage feels that festivals are the time to splurge, even as discounts remain the biggest attraction for most buyers.

 

Sites like Cuponation.in and Freecharge.in are generating huge traffic in this festive season. Mr. Chirag Rakshit, Co-Founder Cuponation.in explains that “This is the time when people renovate their houses and they are in search of good deals and discounts”. Kunal Shah Founder and CEO Freecharge.in adds that, “People are not only buying for themselves but also looking for gifting options for their friends and relatives .”

 

Despite this, Consumer goods makers are lining up large-scale promotion offers even for fresh merchandise to revive sales during the coming festive season.

Players like GreenDust, a brand of RLC (deals in refurbished products) is also gearing up with the launch of EMI option for their patrons, which will help them to enjoy the festive season without bothering their pockets much. “There will be a slew of new launches from mobile phones to consumer durables. We will see a lot of offers, promotions, good schemes on EMI and higher promotional spends,” said Hitendra Chaturvedi , MD and Founder, GreenDust, a brand of RLC.