High prices this sale season is a done deal, but that's only half the story

This festive shopping season, your desire to upgrade is likely to come up against the reality of higher price tags, putting you in so-near-yet-so-far kind of situation. That is undesirable not just for buyers but also for sellers, and therefore, brands will make ease-of-paying part of the deal this year.

Companies across consumer electronics, durables, apparel and jewellery are expanding financing options, including no-cost EMIs and staggered payment plans, as they seek to sustain festive demand and prevent consumers from shifting to cheaper alternatives, ToI reported on September 28.

Easy financing already accounts for close to half of consumer durable purchases in general. This year, however, brands expect such schemes to play an even larger role amid inflationary pressures.


Festive sales volumes could remain subdued, but higher unit prices are expected to lift the overall value of purchases, said Arjun Bajaj, director at Videotex, which manufactures television sets for brands, told ToI's Asmita Dey.

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According to Bajaj, the cost of some inputs, including packaging boxes and power cords, has increased 30-40% over the past six months. Entry-level 32-inch televisions are likely to face the sharpest impact from these increases, he said.

LG Electronics and Panasonic are combining zero-interest EMIs, longer-duration financing, extended warranties and cashbacks to make premium offerings more affordable.

Sanjay Chitkara, director and co-CSMO at LG Electronics India, said premiumisation would continue to be an important growth driver during the festive period. Seasonal earnings, including Diwali bonuses, are also making consumers more receptive to upgrading, he said.

Financing could become particularly important across consumer electronics, durables and fashion. Such schemes may account for 60-80% of total transactions in these categories this year, according to Tushar Aggarwal, founder and CEO of fintech Stashfin.

Retailers widen the offer basket

Jewellery retailers are also seeking to protect margins by offering more products at accessible price points instead of depending heavily on discounts.

CaratLane is expanding its assortment across price bands to improve affordability rather than using discounts as the primary lever, said managing director Saumen Bhaumik. He said consumers were becoming more deliberate about spending, although there was no broad-based movement towards cheaper products.

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Malabar Gold & Diamonds is using old-gold exchanges to reach customers with tighter budgets. The exchange programme has recently contributed 70% of the company's sales, group chairman MP Ahammed said.

BlueStone Jewellery is similarly responding to higher gold prices by altering product designs and price points. Founder and CEO Gaurav Singh Kushwaha said the company was focusing on retaining genuine choices for customers even when rising gold prices pushed products into higher price brackets.

Liberty Shoes is concentrating on products priced below Rs 2,500, where the GST implication is 5%. Executive director Anupam Bansal said the company wanted to improve design, materials and comfort within an accessible price range rather than simply increase prices.

E-commerce platforms are also adding value-led offerings. Flipkart is working with brands to introduce exclusive product packs at value price points, said Nishant Dalal, vice president for consumables, FMCG and healthcare and head of BGM at the company.