End of season sales party arrives early for Indians this year, here's why

Usually, the EOSS starts at the end of June, and companies aim to clear their stock before fresh stock hits the shelves, but this year, the companies have started discounting early

Several brands have started their end-of-season sales (EOSS) weeks before it usually starts and are looking to clear the unsold inventory. Companies like Page Industries and Lifestyle are offering attractive discounts to buyers. According to a report by The Economic Times (ET), this has been done as there has been a slowdown in demand over the past two months, and companies want to exhaust their stock before fresh inventory arrives next month.

Usually, the EOSS starts at the end of June, and companies aim to clear their stock before fresh stock hits the shelves. This year, the companies have started discounting earlier than the normal schedule.

 

Another reason the retailers have advanced their sales is to compete with online retailers already offering heavy discounts on products in their mega sales. Flipkart launched its EOSS with over 10,000 brands and 200,000 sellers on June 1 till June 7. It saw participation by millions of customers across India.

The sale caught global eyeballs when its advertisement was shown on the New York Times Square.

Amazon launched its Great Indian Summer Sale between May 13 and May 16 with up to 75 per cent discount on mobiles, laptops, accessories and more. In July, it will launch its Prime Day Sale, which offers up to 90 per cent discount on some products.

The Indian retail market has slowed in March and April, pushing the brands to start their sales early. Last year, despite inflation, customers flocked to shops helping the market rebound strongly post-pandemic. However, In March and April, the overall growth slowed to 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY). According to the Retailers Association of India, this was the slowest sales expansion in the last 14 months.

Devarajan Iyer, chief executive officer (CEO) of fashion retailer Lifestyle, was quoted by ET as saying there has been a slowdown in the overall market, and brands ideally want to exhaust their current inventory before the fresh stock comes in July.

Another industry expert, Ashish Dikshit, managing director, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), told ET, "This is probably the first full quarter where the impact of slowdown is fully visible across all segments of our business. I had earlier referred to the lower end of the market being more affected but now, it appears that it is a more widespread sort of slowdown in this period."