It is that time of the year again. Diwali and Dhanteras are round the corner, and it is the time Indian households buy gold as it is considered auspicious. Historically, this gold buying tradition has rewarded them handsomely. For instance, investors who have. There’s a nip in the air, Dussehra is over and the festival of lights around the corner. All those who had accumulated gold were lucky, but amid salary and job crises buying gold as per the tradition is very challenging for scalarized people.
Lockdown due to COVID-19 gifted us job losses and salary cuts, no Diwali bonus, and an uncertain future are all contributing to this muted festival shopping. But sales staff in most places are confident that things will change. It is not just storing, big and small, old and new, which persuade and retain customers with tempting discounts and other offers. The festival season is also when corporates plan their sales and marketing calendar for the year. Beauty parlors to the beverage industry came up with heavy discount schemes, but still, this Diwali is not as bright as it used to be. The firecracker industry almost collapsed due to non-buyers and government restrictions. Due to COVID19, many people avoided visiting markets and shops rather they made online shopping that fits in their budget. Most surveys show that consumer intent to purchase offline still remains low. A buyer behaviour analysis showed that consumers’ intent to buy durables has significantly increased, but with purchases happening predominantly online.
Sidhant Vanmali as astrologer said, “this year was very inauspicious for many, though the gold rates have gone high still avoid buying Steel Utensils on This Day. Many people bring steel utensils home on the day of Dhanteras while doing so should be avoided. Steel is not a pure metal. Rahu also has more influence on this. You should only buy natural metals. Only brass can be purchased from man-made metal.”
A shopkeeper in Goyal Market said, “With all the corona related protocols, the shop is not bustling as usual, but it is not empty either, there are a few masked customers. But this Diwali business on average. Only now people are slowly coming out of the fear of the coronavirus, and resuming normal activity, which includes festival shopping,” said Radhysham, the shop’s owner.
