Discounts, both in cash and kind, are out there to lure the consumer this Diwali.
This festive season, falling for the ‘free bait’ could be worth your while. Besides the usual suspects, the consumer durable brands and retailers, others such as travel companies and even stock brokers have joined the festive caravan.
Customers can pick up a 22-inch Samsung LCD worth Rs 15,900 if they make purchases of over Rs 1 lakh at eZone, the Future Group’s electronic retail arm. At Croma outlets, those who buy a 40-inch LED television worth Rs 69,990 that belongs to their in-house brand get another 32-inch LCD worth Rs 28,000 of the same brand, free. Croma is the Tata Group’s national chain of consumer electronics and durables.
Keeping the festive season in mind, retailers have introduced a new collection for everything from clothes to furniture and are offering discounts on these. Imported furniture worth Rs 169,000 is now available at Rs 134,999, a discount of 25 per cent.
Holiday packages: Travel companies are cashing in on short breaks customers might want to take during the Diwali weekend. SOTC has announced the launch of a concept called ‘b0x holidays’, available in Mumbai and Delhi. The box contains pre-packaged local or even international holiday vouchers, add-ons and discount coupons, destination information, tips and freebies. “This concept relates to the trend of customers who go for weekend holidays at a short notice. Customers could also gift a holiday,” says Kashmira Commissariat, COO - Outbound Division, Kuoni India.
The local holiday packages include places around Mumbai and Delhi, such as Corbett, Mussoorie, Goa, Lonavla and so on. International destinations such as Mauritius, Bangkok, Dubai, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong can also be availed.
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Electronic goods: Bigger consumer durable brands like Samsung and others are already offering free gifts on their products. Combine these with schemes offered by multi-city retailers like Croma and eZone and it is a double bonanza for customers. This season, assured gifts teamed with easy finance options have ensured more footfalls.
“Though demand always improves during this season, the special offers have resulted in a 35 -40 per cent rise in the year on year growth for us this year,”says Manoj Kumar, category head – consumer durables & electronics, eZone,the Future Group’s electronic retail arm.
eZone has assured gifts for different slabs of purchase. To make it more attractive, customers can purchase goods under a scheme where the customer pays just a rupee and avails of zero-interest equated monthly instalments (EMIs), which begin a month after the purchase.
Croma is using exchange schemes and other financing options with special cash-back offers for select credit card holders.
Brokerage houses: Have also come up with schemes that will lure new customers. Motilal Oswal has launched an offer for customers who open an account with its online trading terminal, Mybroker. Customers could save Rs 500 on the trading and demat account opening charges, besides trading at discounted brokerage rates and a 15 per cent cash back on the brokerage generated during the first three months of trading.
Deals on the net: The festive shopping mania has also spread to online portals. Special Diwali dhamakas sell gift hampers of every kind, from fire crackers to mithai that is be delivered at the doorstep. Gurgaon-based Guneet Singh, Director and co-founder of online portal dealsandyou.com, says, “We expanded our service categories to be more relevant to Diwali this year.” So, the portal came up with Diwali-centric services such as offering a pre-Diwali home cleaning service, ‘So Clean’. Thanks to a 70 per cent discount being offered, the service costs Rs 700 only, instead of the actual Rs 3,000. The portal also offers post-Diwali, clothes dry-cleaning services.