This Navratri, India’s festive economy touched new highs, marking its strongest festive sales in more than 10 years, fueled by strong festive demand and the Modi government’s recent GST reforms. It cut tax rates across essential and aspirational goods, making products more affordable and fueling consumer demand.
From cars and SUVs to home appliances and electronics, almost every major sector witnessed unmatched growth during the nine-day festival.
Automobile sector breaks records
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The automobile industry emerged as the biggest winner this festive season. Maruti Suzuki recorded its best-ever Navratri sales growth by 100 per cent in at least a decade, with bookings doubling from last year. The firm reported 1.5 lakh bookings and expected to rise to 2 lakh bookings, compared to 85,000 vehicles retailed last Navratri.
In a historic record, Maruti Suzuki delivered 1.65 lakh cars in the first eight days, including 30,000 cars on the first day of Navratri alone, which was its best single-day performance in 35 years.
Competitive brands also rode the festive wave like Mahindra & Mahindra saw retail sales jump 60 per cent year-on-year, driven by SUVs like the XUV700 and Scorpio N.
At Hyundai, the increased demand for models like Creta and Venue pushed SUV’s share accounting for over 72 per cent of its total sales.
Hero MotoCorp doubled showroom footfalls, while Tata Motors retailed over 50,000 vehicles, driven by Altroz, Punch, Nexon and Tiago.
Consumer Electronics in demand
Haier India recorded a staggering 85 per cent sales jump, nearly selling out its Diwali stock of premium 85-inch and 100-inch TVs priced about Rs 2.5 lakh. The firm also sold 300-500 units of 65-inch TVs daily during the period.
India’s largest retailer Reliance Retails grew by 20-25 per cent over last year’s Navratri, showing this outstanding performance with categories like large-screen TVs, smartphones, and fashion driving the sales momentum.
Whereas, electronics retail chain Vijay sales saw a more than 20 per cent sales growth. On the other hand LG Electronics also noted “exponential growth “across categories.
GST cuts fuel confident spending
The government encouraged an environment of confident spending, by rationalising GST slabs and easing the tax burden on both essential and aspirational items.
As a result, the brands and retailers reported sales growth ranging from 25 per cent to 100 per cent that marks a major boost for India’s consumption-driven economy.
With the first half of the festive season covering Onam, Durga Puja and Dussehra, already accounting for 40-45 per cent of annual festive sales, retailers expect Diwali and Christmas to push consumption to new all-time highs.Â
