Dull market and e-com discounts take sheen off Deepavali sales

Deepavali is only a week away, but sales of fireworks and gold jewellery appear to have not picked up this year. However, textile shopping seems to be on a par with previous years but the only difference is that most of the sales are happening online. Traders attribute this slump to a less-than-vibrant economy.

Cracker vendors in the city pointed out that there has been a general shortage in production of crackers at Sivakasi due to the shortage of skilled labour. As a result of production dip, prices have increased by about 30 per cent, which is turning away customers. As far as green crackers are concerned, vendors said that they will have to wait for next Deepavali before they hit the market.

“There was a ban on making crackers for six months in Sivakasi. So the workers moved to other jobs. The products were made with limited workers and as a result, there is a significant shortage of crackers, which has led to a hike in prices for up to 30 per cent this Diwali,” said Saroja J, a member at Bundar Street Crackers Association, who also opened a fireworks outlet at Island grounds.

“Next year, the supply will be worse because the manufacture of 5,000 and 10,000 wala crackers will be stopped. Only 2,000 walas will be sold from next Deepavali. We have not got any profits for the past two years,” she added.

Though the prices have increased at offline cracker shops, traders on online shopping forums said that there are many coupons and discounts for the customers this year and their profit is not affected much. “The online sale has increased compared to last year. We have five per cent discounts for all orders and even combos are available. We also have freebies, free shipping for Chennai customers who purchase crackers for above Rs 2,500,” said Sathish M, founder of Crackers Online Chennai.

However, a crosssection of the public claimed that they have lost interest in bursting crackers due to rain. The restriction on time to burst crackers in the city has added to the lack of interest. “Usually, we buy crackers for at least Rs 5, 000 every year. Last year, most of the crackers we bought went to waste as the court allotted only two hours to burst them. So, we have decided not to buy crackers this year and also the prices have doubled,” Uma Maheswari GP, a resident of Mamballam, said.

Though the cracker business is dull, the textile business is booming in Chennai. But customers prefer online shopping as many discounts and offers are available on online portals.

“The number of competitors has increased this year and customers have limited funds. Nowadays, youngsters prefer online shopping and so the sales have decreased this year. Though we have exclusive items and supply our own readymade products from Tirupur, sales have not picked up as expected. We are expecting to make more profit later into this week,” said Suresh Kumar, General Manager, Chennai Silks (Chennai).

“The sales of clothes have further reduced after the onset of monsoon. This year we have many exclusive products like matching clothes for the whole family and many combo offers. When shopping from our online portal, we provide free shipping and surprise discounts for this festival season,” J Rajkumar, Deputy general manager, Pothys.

Meanwhile, the crowd thronging Ranganathan street has increased. “We don’t go shopping as a family very often. This a Deepavali tradition. We see a lot of new products in the market this year and the prices are reasonable. We prefer not to shop online as the quality of the product cannot be guaranteed when they are bought without seeing it in person,” said Kalapana Lingeswaran, a buyer at T Nagar from Ambattur.

The price of gold has been on a continuous hike for a month and this has affected the sales in the city. Traders said that the business will pick up only of the price decreases.

“Gold purchase has been dull due to hike in rates. The price of gold is higher when compared to Deepavali last year. Usually, customers start purchasing jewels 15 days ahead of Deepavali. Though the festival is only a week away, we haven’t seen a good business,” said Jayanthilal Chellani, President, Madras jewellers and diamond merchants’ association.