Diwali is around the corner and the brands are betting big on the festive season as they are slowly recovering from the havoc caused by the pandemic and the multiple lockdowns that followed. From FMCG to Electronics & accessories to Jewellery to automobiles – the brands are positive about consumer sentiments and are hoping that Diwali will help them bounce back. Though the brand owners are well aware that consumers’ splurge during this festive season won’t match with the pre-pandemic era, with heavy discount offers and innovative marketing strategies they are doing their part to attract positive consumer sentiments.
According to industry experts, the festival is expected to be low key compared to the previous times. However, there is positive sentiment among the Indian consumers who are willing to spend. It has presented an opportunity for brands to make the most of it. Online channels will continue to be a convenient option for consumers to shop.
As the country is limping back to normalcy and the economic recovery is gaining pace, an increase in footfalls across offline channels are also expected to increase. From thought-provoking campaigns to innovative social media posts- the brands have taken the digital route to attract more consumers during the festive season.
The major jewellery brand Malabar Gold has invested a major share in digital media as part of their marketing and ad strategies.
“As there is pent-up demand, we expect healthy consumer demand for gold jewellery during Diwali this year. As the economic recovery is gaining pace, we expect a positive consumer sentiment with a 30-40% increase in sales compared to that of last year during Diwali,” said Ahammed MP, Chairman, Malabar Gold & Diamonds.
“Digital Medium takes 24% of our ad shares, followed by Print with 11%, and 8% share on Television,” said Ahammed.
The brand has listed out special Diwali offers for the consumers.
“We are offering to our customers free 1 gold coin with every purchase of gold jewellery worth Rs 30,000 and free 2 gold coins with every purchase of diamond jewellery worth Rs 30,000. Also 5% extra cashback by purchasing through SBI credit card,” Ahammed added.
Ajoy Chawla, CEO, Jewellery Division, Titan Company Limited said, “We are continuing to see positive momentum in consumer mood this festive season. Consumers are looking to celebrate small milestones as they want to make the most of them in the present. Pent-up demand, the overall festive mood and wedding purchases are all converging to create a surge in both gold and diamond categories. We think this could continue right through to Diwali and hopefully beyond into the wedding season.”
Suvankar Sen, CEO, Senco Gold and Diamonds is expecting the sales to get back to pre covid levels, with an increase of 25-30 per cent from last year.
“This year’s jewellery buying trend has been large. After two years of mental anxiety and challenges, customers want to spend and invest in jewellery as a source of happiness and asset building. We have seen larger pieces of necklaces in gold or diamonds getting sold. Also, statement pieces of bangles, earrings, rings getting sold. Sales are expected to get back to pre covid levels, with an increase of 25-30 per cent from last year,” said Sen.
Senco is providing customers with new collections, designs in gold, diamond, platinum and has also announced exciting offers on the purchase of gold and diamond jewellery.
“Kiara Advani as brand ambassador has been taken on board with the launch of a new design range and the theme being Now is the time to get back to normal and plan for a healthy prosperous future,” Sen added.
Gurumukh Uttamchandani – Executive Director – Syska is also optimistic that the consumer demand will pick up again over this festive season.
“Despite the fact that the pandemic initially caused a hurdle for consumer-facing businesses, we are optimistic that the demand will pick up again over this year’s festive season. People’s perceptions of how they should live in their homes were altered due to the stay-at-home orders caused by the pandemic. This led to increasing demand for smart home products such as smart plugs, smart LED lights, smart table lamps etc,” Uttamchandani said.
Work from home created an increase in demand for mobile accessories such as power banks, earphones, Bluetooth speakers, and much more. Interestingly, mobile accessories are frequently being bought as gifts, and this trend will stay for long. Additionally, personal care grooming products such as trimmers and hair styling tools are expected to be in high demand across both men and women categories, as people would prefer to groom themselves in the safety of their own homes.
“During the festive season, we are expecting consumers to indulge in purchasing these kinds of products especially from tier 2 and tier 3 towns owing to the convenience with which they can shop through both online and offline channels,” he added.
“We at Syska usually operate with marketing budgets of 3-4 per cent of our overall revenue, which will be placed to achieve our functional objectives across several areas such as LED, personal care appliances, mobile accessories, smartwatch, fans and more. We recently concluded the ‘God of Sales’ offer on our D2C platform which was aimed at strengthening our relationship with our consumers and we will continue to come up with various offers and schemes for our consumers. All through the festive season, we will continue to closely monitor the consumer purchase pattern across each medium and engage with them, by providing innovative products and solutions across all the industry segments we cater to. We also plan to present combo deals and discounts with great value offerings to promote larger sales as gifting continues to be an essential part of the festive season,” Uttamchandani concluded.
“As the festive season has begun on an optimistic note this year, the demand for home automation products has seen an uptick among consumers. The next few months is a great time for brands to tap into consumer demand, which can be translated to direct sales and lead to an increased brand recall,” observes Kishan Jain, Director, Gold medal Electricals.
“We at Gold medal Electricals have been constantly innovating and are looking forward to launching new products in the LEDs, fans and switches segment in the forthcoming months through our presence in the online and offline space. As the overall sentiment towards the festive season looks quite positive, we have planned to allocate slightly higher spending in the range of 25-30% of our marketing budget during the festive season,” he added.
Speaking about the overall marketing strategy, Jain said, “Our overall strategy has been to use video content to showcase our products and to communicate our message during the festive season. We plan to be majorly present in the digital space. We will also continue to drive our omnichannel presence within the category by leveraging digital activations. We are also aiming to amplify our messaging through a region-centric approach that will help us expand our presence in Tier 2 & 3 cities. While we see new categories such as fans and LEDs gaining greater momentum, we shall also continue to build awareness around other product categories through our consumer-centric communication”
Jain expects an upswing in sales during this time of the year and hence as part of their marketing strategy, the brand has collaborated their digital and PR efforts to get maximum ROI.
According to Bhavesh Navlakha, Founder, Sukkhi, “Jewellery has a special significance during the festive season in India. Over the past few years, we have seen a huge demand for fashion jewellery during the festive season and we expect the demand to soar this time as well.
Due to the pandemic, the brand is meeting the customers’ latent demand through more online distribution channels and they would like to go all out to look and feel their best self and enjoy the festivities to the fulles
“At Sukkhi, we are focusing on launching a collection worn by a celebrity and are in discussion with a few celebrities for the same. To keep up with the expected demand, we are also launching more trending SKUs for the festive season. There is a great demand on the e-commerce sites where Sukkhi products are available, with offline sales picking up as well. With the upcoming festive season, we at Sukkhi are looking forward to a great sales record in all our categories,” Navlakha concluded.
