Retailers push the discount pedal on R-Day, offer rebates of up to 60%

Most categories looking to capitalise on out-of-home momentum

Retailers across segments from durables to fashion, lifestyle and grocery are using the extended weekend triggered by Republic Day that falls on Tuesday to offer discounts between 30-60 per cent as consumers cautiously step out after months of staying indoors.

Durable retailers such as Vijay Sales and Croma expect a 15 per cent sales growth during this period over last year, as consumers look to upgrade their products. Apparel retailers, on the other hand, are coordinating their end-of-season sales with Republic Day offers, while grocery retailers such as Big Bazaar will begin their six-day 'Sabse Saste Din' festival on Tuesday.

"There is certainly some momentum in the marketplace after lockdown restrictions last year," says Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Vijay Sales. "While durable and electronic items have benefitted from the work-from-home and learn-from-home trends, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, I still find consumers wanting to upgrade to bigger and better products. This is helping us," he says.

Ritesh Ghosal, chief marketing officer, Croma, says consumers are using the R-Day sales to make their purchases before prices shoot up following the Union Budget next month. "There is anticipation of a price hike next month, which is why there is an accelerated purchase cycle now," he says.

 

Categories such as television sets, laptops, wearable devices, phones, kitchen and home appliances are seeing good sales traction, experts tracking the market said.

In grocery too the momentum appears to be high. Executives at Reliance Smart and Reliance Fresh, for instance, who began their R-Day sales on Saturday said that footfalls into stores were up at least 10-15 per cent over regular weekends, as consumers took advantage of the R-Day discounts and offers. 

A senior executive from Big Bazaar said that the chain had received a good response to a promotional voucher campaign it had launched before the start of the 'Sabse Saste Din' festival. "Consumers could pre-book vouchers of Rs 2,500, which could be utilised for shopping during the festival days. These vouchers have sold out. We have also reached out to our loyalty programme customers to participate in the festival," he said.

Apparel retailers such as Reliance Trends, Marks and Spencer, Max Fashion, Shoppers Stop are all offering upto 50-60 per cent off on merchandise as they seek to liquidate inventory.

Online platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon have also seized the R-Day period to launch their festivals, competing head-on with offline retailers