PUDUCHERRY:Amid fear of intermittent rains affecting Deepavali sales, a study has revealed that sale of sweets and crackers has declined this year even though textile trade has remained the same as previous years. The study also states that 85.56 per cent of the population here are scheduled to celebrate the festival of lights.
While 44.72 per cent of Deepavali expenditure is on textiles, 31.16 per cent is on sweets and 24.12 per cent on crackers, revealed the study. The study further said that while 16.43 per cent of people spend over Rs 7,000 on textiles, 15.97 per cent spend around Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000, 32.87 per cent of people spend anywhere between Rs 2,000-Rs 5,000 and 34.73 per cent below Rs 2,000. While men prefer casual clothing, women prefer to buy silk on the festive occasion, the study pointed out. Respondents also expressed their preference for newly arrived clothes, milk sweets.
81.80 per cent of respondents agreed that crackers cause pollution, yet 52.63 per cent of those who purchase crackers like to spend upto Rs 2,000 on it. Also 61.08 per cent respondents welcomed innovative crackers that cause less pollution. Spending on sweets and crackers is perceived as waste of money by people though they enjoy it during Deepavali celebration.
The major reason for the drop in sales is due to the financial constraints of Puducherry people. The effect is felt by small traders more rather than big traders. The major reason being that small business houses focus on unit price while larger business houses focus on sales volume than price. In the current scenario, market supply has exceeded demand leading to prices getting negatively marked.
The study conducted by students of the department of Management Studies, IFET College of Engineering, elicited the views of 500 traders and 500 commoners. It was done at Jawaharlal Nehru Street, Anna Salai, M G Road and Mission Street.
Welcoming the initiative, P Thanikasalam, general secretary of Puducherry Chamber of Commerce requested students to conduct a detailed market survey.