There’s something in the air these days. I told this to myself a few days ago as I was taking a stroll on the Linking Road stretch in Bandra, late in the evening. The lights in the stores, smiling faces emerging with multiple shopping bags in their hands, store managers joking around with their employees and the entire hustle and bustle in the market, all contributed to a very happy atmosphere, perhaps insinuating us of the times to come. Strange enough as it may seem but I started feeling good myself. And then I decided to give it a thought.
The country’s economy is on a rise, the GDP is clambering up too, the bulls and bears are making merry, the monsoons have not spelled wrath either and a great festive season awaits the people of India. All of these factors and more have lent a feeling of positiveness to the market as well as the lives of people. Brands are working overtime to launch campaigns for the approaching festive season in order to achieve best results in the last quarter of the year. The consumer confidence is at an all time high, people are more optimistic and inclined on spending this coming season. Throughout the year people save to shop unbridled at this time of the year. This is the time when the consumer will buy and not bargain, a celebrative time when people don’t mind going that extra bit with their shopping, shelling out some extra cash and hence ending up spending well.
This is also the time when the market can afford to hold back margins, not give discounts, laugh into their brands and ask the consumer to go buy and enjoy. Though the consumer is not receiving a great discount but they are getting more ‘value’. A value that burgeons out of the trade where the consumer gives money, which is the symbol of its best possible efforts, in exchange for the best quality of goods that the marketer can offer him. Not only would the customer be happy it would be a ‘Diwali Bonus’ for the marketers too.
Every year during the festive season the markets are splashed with humongous discounts and sale. How about turning this scenario upside down this season to create a win-win situation for everyone? How about turning the tide? How about giving everyone a reason to smile? Next time when you walk around in the market, look around you, you’ll find that the air has changed and it urges you to be a part of it…
(The author is National Creative Director, Leo Burnett)
