BackBrands roll out offers as Onam kick-starts festival season
Brands such as Vivo, Kalyan Jewellers, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, and Haier India, among many others have launched festive campaigns for Onam, Raksha Bandhan and wedding season to boost demand leading to a collective jump of 50-60% in festive ad spends over 2020
PremiumNEW DELHI: Companies across consumer goods categories, especially electronics and jewellery, said they expect the festive season this year to be better than in 2019—in tandem with a retreating pandemic and unhindered by the job cuts and lockdown of 2020.
Onam, which kick-starts the festive season, has brought back many advertisers who have pumped money into launching campaigns and promotions.
Brands such as Vivo, Kalyan Jewellers, Malabar Gold and Diamonds and Haier Appliances India have launched festive campaigns for Onam—which falls on Saturday—Raksha Bandhan, and the wedding season. Festive ad spends have jumped 50-60% over 2020.
“People are cautious, but they are celebrating in close groups among friends and family. The purchasing is happening—therefore, advertisers that operate across India are pumping around 60% of media money in promotions while the rest is coming from regional players. Television and digital are leading these spends," said Navin Lalchandani, vice-president, media buying, Starcom, a Publicis Groupe-owned media agency.
To boost demand, Malabar Gold and Diamonds, for instance, introduced ‘One India, One Gold Rate’ selling jewellery at a uniform price across the country with fair making charges. On Onam, the jewellery retailer is offering instant discounts.
“Normally, we get around 40% sales during the festivals and wedding season. We are expecting a 30% increase in our sales during the Onam festival, compared to last year," said Ahammed M.P., chairman, Malabar Gold and Diamonds. “On account of Onam, Sunday lockdown in Kerala also has been put off. Festival atmosphere is palpable everywhere," he added.
Kalyan Jewellers, which operates 116 showrooms in India, said it expects a good recovery this Onam, backed by overall consumer sentiment, the coming wedding season, falling gold prices, as well as the ongoing shift in consumer preference from unorganized to organized jewellery brands.
“Our revenues in June 2021 were significantly higher than those of the previous year (2020), adjusted for store operational days. In Kerala, we are witnessing an uptick in customer footfall across our showrooms as lockdown restrictions have eased," said Ramesh Kalyanaraman, executive director, Kalyan Jewellers. “The implementation of mandatory hallmarking by the government of India is expected to further accelerate this trend," he added.
Consumer durable and appliance manufacturers who typically do brisk business during the festive months also expect festival season sales to hold strong this year.
Refrigerator and air-conditioner maker Haier Appliances India has announced an array of offers, including cashbacks, and has partnered with several banks to offer equated monthly instalment (EMI) options.
“Starting with Onam, we are hopeful that the festive season will bring back the high spirits to people. Early trends hint at positive consumer sentiment with the festive season. And we expect an increase in sales with an optimism to close this year on a high. Currently, we have no immediate plans to increase the prices of our products going into the festive season," said Eric Braganza, president, Haier Appliances India.
“Looking at the current trend post-unlock after the second wave of the pandemic, we surely expect a good festive season this year compared to 2019," said Nilesh Gupta, director, Vijay Sales.
“This year, the sentiment is much better and looking at the past few weeks’ drop in covid numbers, the sentiments are further improving. The prices have gone up due to shortages of components and an increase in input costs. However, we expect, like all festive seasons, brands would surely get offers and discounts for the consumers this year too," he said.
Some companies, however, said that with states in the South, especially Kerala, still reporting high daily covid-19 cases, sales could be affected.
Anuj Poddar, executive director, Bajaj Electricals Ltd, said, “Overall, we are bullish. I think there’s a certain feel-good factor." However, he said, Kerala has borne the brunt of the pandemic in recent months, and the consumers in the South may be apprehensive.
“In the rest—East, North and West—we are seeing a strong feel-good factor. Beyond Onam, we expect good traction during the festival season. We do expect growth this festive season over last year, despite the fact that last year we saw a big growth due to pent up demand," said Poddar. South India contributes 15% of sales to Bajaj.
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