KOCHI: Onam, the grandest of festivals celebrated in Kerala, is the time when most businesses record the maximum sales in a year, with industry experts estimating about 50-60 per cent of yearly business in the state being recorded during that period.
Onam, also considered as the harbinger of the festive season in the country that extends till Diwali, is often looked upon as the indicator of how various industry segments are to grow in the second half of the year.
No wonder, small-scale shop owners to large corporate behemoths, invest so heavily in attracting customers to their showrooms. The growth figures, with Kerala being a testing ground, serves as a morale boost for large companies to spread out into other festive markets across the country.
With Onam being just a month away, a slew of offers has already started to roll out, like assured gifts with each purchase, lucky draws, exchange offers and attractive finance schemes, all in the hope of increasing footfalls and their eventual conversion.
Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Biju Ramesh said the home appliances, consumer electronics segment and textiles industry witness a huge surge in demand as most consumers generally tend to plan their major yearly purchases to coincide with festive offers. A large number of NRIs visiting their families during Onam, local school vacations add to the rise in demand during this season.
Bismi Home Appliances LLP sales head Sudeesh B S says consumers generally have the feeling of getting a better deal during the festive season. “We witness nearly three times the average monthly demand for home appliances in the 20-25 days leading up to Onam,” says Sudheesh. He adds that large consumer appliances companies, understanding the importance of Onam season, had started investing heavily in promotions since the last decade or so. Apart from offers and gifts, the attractive finance schemes with zero interest EMIs are a major attractant to the majority.
“Even though the market is still yet to fully recover from the effects of GST introduction and demonetization, we expect this festive season sale to better the last year’s by a considerable margin,” said Ramesh.
Biggies join the race
Sony recently announced its 170 crore sales target this Onam, for which they will be spending 17 crores for advertisement and marketing, in this time period. While Godrej Appliances plans to achieve their 200 crore target this Onam, which will be a 30 per cent growth over the last season.