Independence Day: Delhi Metro to start services at 4 am across all lines on August 15. Details here
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Economic Times
14 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Independence Day fuels a revival in retail sales
Synopsis Independence Day sales boosted retail across India. Discounts increased foot traffic and sales by 8-10%. Electronics, groceries, and apparel saw strong demand. Restaurants benefited from mall traffic and movie releases. Retailers hope for a strong festive season. Reliance Retail and BigBasket reported significant sales growth. Malls saw increased footfalls. The government plans to rationalize GST rates to boost consumption. Independence Day discounts have lifted footfalls and sales by 8-10% YoY across key retail destinations in the country, with a revival in entry-to-mid segment demand raising hopes of a strong festive of electronics, particularly in the more affordable segments, groceries and apparel have picked up, while restaurants are benefiting from higher mall traffic boosted by new movie releases and a rise in in-home dining orders, industry executives said. 'After several months, there is good demand for entry to mid-segment products,' said Nilesh Gupta, director at electronic retail chain Vijay are good and there is over 8% jump in sales value over last year, which is better than last year, he companies and grocery retailers run promotional offers specifically for the Independence Day eve--one of the largest consumption periods, along with the Republic Day sales, after the festive season. At India's largest retailer Reliance Retail, sales grew in double digits over last year, an executive has been running I-day promotional offers across the consumption basket—electronics, groceries and fashion, and keeping stores open from early morning till late India president Satish NS said the electronics manufacturer's I-Day sales are up over 20% compared to last year, with most categories driving ecommerce app BigBasket reported a 42% on-year increase in patriotic merchandise sales on Friday, apart from a surge in sales of electronics including iPhone said footfalls have surged due to long weekends, discounts on offer, and new movie releases, powered by Rajinikanth's Coolie and Hrithik Roshan's War 2.'The crowd that comes for the movie adds at least 10% of the revenue for fashion brands, food and beverages,' said Harsh V Bansal, cofounder of Unity Group, which operates over half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab. 'The next few days also look good in terms of footfall and sales,' he the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, theatres are seeing back-to-back movies going housefull, Bansal of the I-Day offers are continuing till the weekend.'International brands have contributed to the growth with consumers using the lower price point during the sale to buy products,' said Muhammad Ali, chief executive, retail, at Prestige Group, which operates five malls in South India. These malls have seen a 15% on-year growth in sales. 'One segment which has not done well is Indian women's wear, which is a cause of worry,' Ali said. Rebound hopes Retailers and brands have been struggling with discretionary sales for the last 9-10 quarters, as low-to-middle-income consumers remained hard-pressed by high inflation and sluggish earnings growth. Higher spending on travel and tourism by many consumers also impacted retail sales, executives executives, however, have forecasted a recovery in consumption in the second half of this fiscal, aided by low inflation, low interest rates on loans, a reduction in income-tax rates this year and good monsoon rains. 'While middle class discretionary spending was under pressure, some consumption has started and with the festival tail wind, the outlook is much better,' said Anjan Chatterjee, managing director of Speciality Restaurants, which operates chains like Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta. The trend during Independence Day has been reassuring, with a 15-18% year-on-year growth, he government on Friday said GST rates will be rationalised to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population by Diwali which too will bring back has been optimism across companies with sales during June and July improving sequentially after intermittent rains and early onset of monsoon impacted sales in the April-May period.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Independence Day fuels a revival in retail sales
Independence Day sales boosted retail across India. Discounts increased foot traffic and sales by 8-10%. Electronics, groceries, and apparel saw strong demand. Restaurants benefited from mall traffic and movie releases. Retailers hope for a strong festive season. Reliance Retail and BigBasket reported significant sales growth. Malls saw increased footfalls. The government plans to rationalize GST rates to boost consumption. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Independence Day discounts have lifted footfalls and sales by 8-10% YoY across key retail destinations in the country, with a revival in entry-to-mid segment demand raising hopes of a strong festive of electronics, particularly in the more affordable segments, groceries and apparel have picked up, while restaurants are benefiting from higher mall traffic boosted by new movie releases and a rise in in-home dining orders, industry executives said.'After several months, there is good demand for entry to mid-segment products,' said Nilesh Gupta, director at electronic retail chain Vijay Sales Walk-ins are good and there is over 8% jump in sales value over last year, which is better than last year, he companies and grocery retailers run promotional offers specifically for the Independence Day eve--one of the largest consumption periods, along with the Republic Day sales, after the festive India's largest retailer Reliance Retail, sales grew in double digits over last year, an executive has been running I-day promotional offers across the consumption basket—electronics, groceries and fashion, and keeping stores open from early morning till late India president Satish NS said the electronics manufacturer's I-Day sales are up over 20% compared to last year, with most categories driving ecommerce app BigBasket reported a 42% on-year increase in patriotic merchandise sales on Friday, apart from a surge in sales of electronics including iPhone said footfalls have surged due to long weekends, discounts on offer, and new movie releases, powered by Rajinikanth's Coolie and Hrithik Roshan's War 2.'The crowd that comes for the movie adds at least 10% of the revenue for fashion brands, food and beverages,' said Harsh V Bansal, cofounder of Unity Group, which operates over half a dozen malls in Delhi and Punjab. 'The next few days also look good in terms of footfall and sales,' he the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, theatres are seeing back-to-back movies going housefull, Bansal of the I-Day offers are continuing till the weekend.'International brands have contributed to the growth with consumers using the lower price point during the sale to buy products,' said Muhammad Ali, chief executive, retail, at Prestige Group, which operates five malls in South India. These malls have seen a 15% on-year growth in sales. 'One segment which has not done well is Indian women's wear, which is a cause of worry,' Ali and brands have been struggling with discretionary sales for the last 9-10 quarters, as low-to-middle-income consumers remained hard-pressed by high inflation and sluggish earnings growth. Higher spending on travel and tourism by many consumers also impacted retail sales, executives executives, however, have forecasted a recovery in consumption in the second half of this fiscal, aided by low inflation, low interest rates on loans, a reduction in income-tax rates this year and good monsoon rains.'While middle class discretionary spending was under pressure, some consumption has started and with the festival tail wind, the outlook is much better,' said Anjan Chatterjee, managing director of Speciality Restaurants , which operates chains like Mainland China and Oh! trend during Independence Day has been reassuring, with a 15-18% year-on-year growth, he government on Friday said GST rates will be rationalised to enhance affordability, boost consumption, and make essential and aspirational goods more accessible to a wider population by Diwali which too will bring back has been optimism across companies with sales during June and July improving sequentially after intermittent rains and early onset of monsoon impacted sales in the April-May period.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Chakra & shopping power
This Independence Day, PM Modi gave two big promises that could make India both safer and cheaper to live in. First, he talked about Mission Sudarshan Chakra — a home-made defence system that will protect important places and buildings from enemy attacks. Think of it like a giant invisible shield. It's being compared to Israel's 'Iron Dome,' which shoots down enemy missiles. India already has strong systems like IACCS and Akashteer, which worked well in a recent military operation. But there are problems: enemy drones are getting smarter, and our defence system is made up of parts from different countries (India, Russia, Israel), which don't always work perfectly together. Sudarshan Chakra will try to fix this by making one fully Indian system that can handle threats from the air, land, and maybe even sea. The goal is to have it ready by 2035. Second, Modi promised a big change in GST — the tax we pay when we buy most things. Right now, GST is messy, with four main rates: 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. The plan is to make it simpler: mostly just 5% and 18% (plus 40% for things like cigarettes). This means many items will get cheaper, like goods moving from 12% to 5% or 18% to 5%. Even health insurance might get taxed less. The government will earn less money at first but hopes people will buy more, which will make up for it later. And yes, this could help win votes in elections — but it's still good news for shoppers. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
