New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): The <keyword id="19921618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Confederation-of-All-India-Traders" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Confederation of All India Traders" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Confederation of All India Traders">Confederation of All India Traders</keyword> (CAIT) on Sunday anticipated a <keyword id="22830196" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-trade" source="keywords">festive trade</keyword> of over Rs 12,000 crore across the country during the <keyword id="21167659" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rakhi" source="keywords">Rakhi</keyword> festival. The trade body said that the markets are witnessing a massive rush for <keyword id="22828356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rakhi-shopping" source="keywords">Rakhi shopping</keyword>, and people are very enthusiastic about the festival. It urged customers to celebrate the festival with Indian goods. Observing the demands for <keyword id="22830197" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indigenous-Rakhis" source="keywords">indigenous Rakhis</keyword>, the trade body stated that customers prefer indigenous Rakhis over <keyword id="22828357" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-Rakhis" source="keywords">Chinese Rakhis</keyword> during this year's festive season. "For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market," the CAIT said in a note. Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT's National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk stated that the business during the Rakhi festival will reach Rs 12,000 crore, compared to last year's trade of approximately Rs 10,000 crore. In 2022, the business was around Rs 7,000 crore, in 2021 it was Rs 6,000 crore, in 2020 it was Rs 5,000 crore, in 2019 it was Rs 3,500 crore, and in 2018 it was Rs 3,000 crore, as per Khandelwal. Khandelwal and CAIT's National President, B.C. Bhartia, mentioned that this year, a special feature of the Rakhis is that special types of Rakhis have been made from famous products of various cities across the country. According to the CAIT representatives, the customers are also demanding Khadi Rakhi made in Nagpur, Sanganeri Art Rakhi from Jaipur, Seed Rakhi from Pune, Woolen Rakhi from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Bamboo Rakhi made from tribal items, Tea Leaf Rakhi from Assam, Jute Rakhi from Kolkata, Silk Rakhi from Mumbai, Date Rakhi from Kerala, Pearl Rakhi from Kanpur, Madhuband Maithili Art Rakhi from Bihar, Soft Stone Rakhi from Pondicherry, Flower Rakhi from Bangalore, and more. There is also high demand for Rakhis that display national pride, such as Tricolor Rakhi, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Rakhi, Bharat Mata Rakhi, as per the CAIT representatives. They added that the designer Rakhis and silver Rakhis are also selling well in the market. The CAIT representatives expected festive sales of over 4 lakh crore due to the extended period of the festival this year which will be celebrated from August 19 to November 15 on the day of Tulsi Vivah. "This year's festive series will begin with <keyword id="6385850" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="raksha-bandhan" source="Orion">Raksha Bandhan</keyword> and continue through Janmashtami, the 10-day Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, and other festivals, culminating with Tulsi Vivah. During this festive period, the business community across the country is fully prepared to meet consumer demands, and traders have stocked up adequately on all products," CAIT added.

Rakhi festive sales expected to surge over Rs 12,000 crore across country: Confederation of All India Traders

New Delhi: <keyword id="22930355" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Janmashtami-festivities" source="keywords">Janmashtami festivities</keyword> across the country led to a <keyword id="22930356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="business-surge" source="keywords">business surge</keyword>, with transactions exceeding Rs 25,000 crore, according to the Confederation of All India Traders (<keyword id="20143308" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CAIT" source="keywords">CAIT</keyword>). These figure highlight the robust consumer spending during the festival driven by the vibrant celebrations of <keyword id="20126824" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="janmashtami" source="keywords">Janmashtami</keyword>, marking one of the most commercially active periods of the year. CAIT's National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk, Praveen Khandelwal, stated that during this significant festival, large-scale sales were observed, particularly in flowers, fruits, sweets, deity costumes, decorative items, fasting sweets, milk, curd, butter, and dry fruits. Khandelwal said that festivals like Janmashtami are an important part of the Sanatan economy, which strengthens the nation's economy. CAIT's National President, BC Bhartia said that Janmashtami was celebrated with great enthusiasm across the country, especially in North and West India, where the festival was celebrated with much joy. <keyword id="20187217" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Krishna-Janmashtami" source="keywords">Krishna Janmashtami</keyword> was celebrated on August 26 this year across the country. Devotees traditionally fast and decorate temples and homes with flowers, diyas, and lights. Temples were decorated attractively, and there were large crowds of people visiting them. He highlighted that the special attractions of the Janmashtami festival included digital tableaux, selfie points with Lord Krishna, and many other delightful scenes. In cities, there were numerous bhajans, religious dances, and discourses by saints and sages. Various social organizations also organized large-scale Janmashtami celebrations. According to scriptures, Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada. It is the day Lord Krishna was born. Earlier this month, the CAIT anticipated a festive trade of over Rs 12,000 crore across the country during the Rakhi festival. In 2022, the business during the Rakhi festival stood at around Rs 7,000 crore, in 2021 it was Rs 6,000 crore, in 2020 it was Rs 5,000 crore, in 2019 it was Rs 3,500 crore, and in 2018 it was Rs 3,000 crore, as per Khandelwal. The trade body said that the markets are witnessing a massive rush for shopping, and people are very enthusiastic about the festival.

Janmashtami festivities drive business across India, sales exceed Rs 25,000 crore: CAIT

Rakhi is almost here and if you haven’t already picked a gift for your sister, you still have some time left. If you are looking for a meaningful gift, you can give her a product that will be useful for her every day. <keyword id="6358815" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="tech" source="Orion">Tech</keyword> products make our life easier and you have a lot of options to choose from, from power banks to true wireless earbuds to smartwatches and smart bands, you can select whichever product your sister may need. To help you decide what gifts to buy, we have compiled a list of some of the best <keyword id="2421521" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech-gifts" source="Orion">tech gifts</keyword> across various price segments and categories. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Dyson Airwrap" comment="subhead2" text="Dyson Airwrap">Dyson Airwrap</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B08D76WWWG" comment="amazoncard" text="B08D76WWWG">B08D76WWWG</cmsannotation> The Dyson Airwrap is a premium hair styler that comes with six attachments that allows you to easily style your hair at home. It comes with intelligent heat control and allows you to dry and style your hair at once. It is currently available for ₹44,899. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Garmin Lily" comment="subhead2" text="Garmin Lily">Garmin Lily</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B08ZCTWL9C" comment="amazoncard" text="B08ZCTWL9C">B08ZCTWL9C</cmsannotation> The Garmin Lily is an excellent option if you are looking for a smartwatch that looks like a traditional watch. It keeps a track of all your important health metrics and also allows you to view notifications easily. It is available for ₹15,990. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Amazfit GTS 2 Mini (new version)" comment="subhead2" text="Amazfit GTS 2 Mini (new version)">Amazfit GTS 2 Mini (new version)</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B09TBDNY27" comment="amazoncard" text="B09TBDNY27">B09TBDNY27</cmsannotation> The new Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is a good option if you are looking for an affordable smartwatch for your sister. It allows you to track all the important health metrics and also comes with Alexa voice assistant, allowing you to use voice commands. It is currently available for ₹4,999. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6" comment="subhead2" text="Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6">Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B091G3FLL7" comment="amazoncard" text="B091G3FLL7">B091G3FLL7</cmsannotation> The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 is a good option if you are looking for a pocket friendly smart band. It offers a long 2-week battery life and keeps a track of important health metrics such as your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and more. It is currently available for ₹2,899. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Flexnest Flexbike" comment="subhead2" text="Flexnest Flexbike">Flexnest Flexbike</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B09F66GSWB" comment="amazoncard" text="B09F66GSWB">B09F66GSWB</cmsannotation> If you are looking for a gift for your health conscious sister, you can also give her a fitness cycle. The Flexnest Flexbike is a good option if you are looking for something that offers more features than a traditional fitness cycle. It comes with various classes from trainers and also allows you to enable virtual rides. It is available for ₹24,749. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="OnePlus Nord Buds" comment="subhead2" text="OnePlus Nord Buds">OnePlus Nord Buds</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B09ZHPN8W5" comment="amazoncard" text="B09ZHPN8W5">B09ZHPN8W5</cmsannotation> The OnePlus Nord Buds are a good option if you are thinking about gifting a true wireless earbud. It features a waterproof design and offers a total battery life of 30 hours on a single charge. It comes with AI noise reduction and offers powerful bass. It is currently available for ₹2,599. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Realme Buds Wireless Neo 2" comment="subhead2" text="Realme Buds Wireless Neo 2">Realme Buds Wireless Neo 2</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B0999NNBPV" comment="amazoncard" text="B0999NNBPV">B0999NNBPV</cmsannotation> The Realme Buds Wireless Neo 2 is a good option if you are looking for a neckband instead of a TWS. It offers 17 hours of battery life on a single charge and comes with environmental noise cancellation. It is water resistant, allowing you to use them even during the rainy season. It is currently available for ₹1,198. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Oneplus Bullets Z2" comment="subhead2" text="Oneplus Bullets Z2">Oneplus Bullets Z2</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B09TVVGXWS" comment="amazoncard" text="B09TVVGXWS">B09TVVGXWS</cmsannotation> The OnePlus Bullets Z2 is another good option if you are looking for a neckband. It is equipped with large 12.4 mm drivers that deliver powerful bass. It offers a battery life of 30 hours on a single charge and is IP55 water resistant. It is currently available for ₹1,799. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Mi Power Bank 3i" comment="subhead2" text="Mi Power Bank 3i">Mi Power Bank 3i</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B08HV83HL3" comment="amazoncard" text="B08HV83HL3">B08HV83HL3</cmsannotation> The Mi Power Bank 3i is a necessary device which allows you to charge your devices on the go. It features a large 20,000mAh capacity, allowing you to charge multiple devices. It offers 18W fast charging, allowing you to quickly charge your devices. It is currently available for ₹1,798. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="URBN 10,000mAh power bank" comment="subhead2" text="URBN 10,000mAh power bank">URBN 10,000mAh power bank</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="B07X83RT1K" comment="amazoncard" text="B07X83RT1K">B07X83RT1K</cmsannotation> The URBN 10,000mAh power bank is a good option if you are looking for a more affordable option. It comes with a smaller 10,000mAh capacity and offers 12W charging support. It is currently available for ₹799. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/best-deals-and-offers-on-smartwatches-smart-bands-and-other-wearable-devices/articleshow/93059424.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival – Best deals and offers on smartwatches and smart bands</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-great-freedom-festival-sale-offers-deals-discounts/articleshow/93365404.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival sale deals and offers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/news/best-deals-on-fashion-and-beauty-amazon-sale/articleshow/93375317.cms">Best deals on fashion and beauty products</a>

Best tech gifts for your sisters this Rakhi

<ul><li>The <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> has always been important to brands, especially to e-commerce players who line up big bumper discounts, look for more retail brands to partner and ramp up their product offerings.</li><li>This festive season, e-commerce platforms are focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration.</li><li>More and more e-commerce platforms are also exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once.</li><li>With increasing internet penetration, e-commerce players are expecting new growth from Tier II, III and beyond this festive, which will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce as per RedSeer Consulting’s report.</li><li>We speak to India’s leading e-commerce players to find out more about their festive plans and revival expectations.</li></ul>The year 2020 accelerated e-commerce industry, perhaps by a decade, revolutionising the way brands operate, run, and grow their businesses, as well as how consumers choose to shop and pay. In the initial months of the lockdown, businesses witnessed a clear shift in consumer behaviour. Historically offline shoppers also came online due to convenience and safety. Consumers are still hesitant to return to in-store shopping completely and audiences from Tier II and Tier III are also preferring to shop online. The pandemic has evidently caused an inflection point for e-commerce in the country. With the second-largest internet user base, India has emerged as one of the most prominent markets globally. Around 480 million people in India have access to the internet out of which 90 million are online shoppers, according to estimates from management consultancy RedSeer. Shoppers from India’s small towns and cities will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce GMV in the coming decade, until 2030, revealed RedSeer. <div type="image" title="redseer - ecomm report" msid="85901903" hostid="261"></div> After spending a glum year and a half, consumers are excited to celebrate the festive season with upcoming shopping sales for Diwali, Dussehra and Christmas. IPL and ICC T-20 World Cup will further improve consumer sentiment this year. According to a survey conducted by The Trade Desk and YouGov, 82% of consumers shopped online at least once a month in the past six months, and nearly one in four made online purchases several times a week or more often. Titled ‘<a href="https://pages.thetradedesk.com/rs/527-INM-364/images/TheFestiveSeasonPulse2021.pdf">The Festive Season Pulse 2021</a>,’ it further said that 91% of Indian consumers are planning a purchase during the upcoming festive season and six in 10 are interested in learning about new brands during festive season sales. To leverage this uptick in consumer sentiment, the e-commerce category is all set to begin its festive marketing blitz and is preparing to line up big discounts for the season in a few weeks. For this 30-day period leading up to the festive season, leading fashion e-commerce platform <keyword id="319719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="myntra" source="Orion">Myntra</keyword> has planned ‘Big Fashion Festival,’ which will be followed up with Myntra Diwali Sale, with a focus on ethnic wear. It will also be focusing on emerging categories like Beauty and Personal care, kidswear and categories such as innerwear and essentials which have experienced tailwinds post-Covid. Myntra’s Chief Business Officer, Ayyappan Rajagopal said, “We are expecting this festive season to be bigger than last year with more customers using online channels to make their purchases. Demand usually peaks in the 30 days leading to Diwali and we expect this year to be no different. In fact, the demand in the 2 months leading to the festive season is expected to be far more than last time (because people have learnt with time to adapt to a pandemic world). We expect high demand from across geographies and markets - metros, Tier 1, Tier 2, T3 cities and beyond. To cater to that, we have built the right ethnic wear, beauty, and home selection, and have partnered with brands on best deals. Hence, to leverage this demand and provide best value to our customers, we are organizing Big Fashion Festival and Myntra Diwali Sale to make this season a resounding success.” Right on the heels of the festive season, Myntra ramped up its marketing game by onboarding Hrithik Roshan, Vijay Deverakonda and Dulquer Salmaan as its newest brand ambassadors, alongside the existing celebrity ambassadors Kiara Advani, and Samantha Akkineni. Now, it is hoping to double its customer base and cater to Gen-Z shoppers with its high-decibel marketing. “With the optimism coming from recovery from Covid and revival in shopping sentiments along with the habitualisation of digital foray across all customer segments, we see a lot of new customers shopping during this festive season. We have also seen trends in Metro/T1 markets where Myntra has been traditionally strong, pointing towards such a revival. With a positive overall sentiment, we will be looking at doubling our customer base during this period. There will also be an added focus towards expanding our footprint in southern markets, deeper penetration into Tier 2 / 3 towns and exploring customer addition through emerging categories like Kids wear, Inner wear, fashion accessories, Beauty and persona care, etc. The greatest focus will be on Gen-Z cohort of shoppers,” shared Rajagopal. E-commerce platforms are also focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration. More and more e-retailers are exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once. D2C fashion platform Bewakoof.com that recently raised Rs 60 crore in an investment round led by InvestCorp, IvyCap and Spring Marketing Capital, is expecting to Rs 120 crore in brand sales this quarter. It recently rolled out celebrity-led digital campaigns with Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra and Farhan Akhtar. It plans to further build its market presence by signing more A-list celebrities to its roster and launch a 360-degree campaign by October. On the technology side, the company intends to launch a gamification-led loyalty program as it upgrades its Bewakoof Tribe with new and exclusive launches for the club members. Sharing the platform’s festive plans further, Prabhkiran Singh, Founder CEO, Bewakoof.com said, “Post pandemic, we saw a strong recovery and growth in certain categories like casual wear and leisurewear because of customers staying at home and with the pandemic slowing down, we expect a strong recovery in categories like ethnic wear, bags, accessories, etc in the festive season ahead. We’re also looking to capitalise on winter wear more this year than usual with winter around the corner and have put in investments accordingly. We expect our brand sales to be Rs 120 crore for the festive quarter.” For Bewakoof, the northern and western markets see the highest demand, followed by West Bengal and Assam because of Durga Puja. Currently, over 6 million customers visit Bewakoof.com every month. Singh told us that the festive season serves as a crucial window in the year for new customer acquisition and bringing back customers that haven’t shopped again for a while. The platform is also planning on increasing its marketing spends this festive. “For this year, 15% of our total marketing budget will be spent for the upcoming festive season.” We’re in the process of rebranding Bewakoof in the next 1-2 months and we’ll have a new look, logo, tagline along with a new set of celebrities that will endorse Bewakoof so we’re excited to roll this out and create buzz around it along with backing it up with top-funnel marketing investments. We plan to go heavy on top-funnel marketing investments starting October,” said Singh. E-retail platform OLX has upped its UI to woo its customers, digitising the entire process of online retailing, including verification of all its premium items. OLX Autos launched a verified inventory of cars with a new interface, which provides a detailed history of the car right from the ownership period all the way up to the service history of the car, and access to a host of financing options and after-sales products like insurance and warranty. As a result, OLX has witnessed a surge in demand for pre-owned cars. Sapna Arora, CMO, OLX India said, “Green shoots are already visible in the used car retail segment. The demand for pre-owned cars has been 25% higher than the pre-Covid levels while there has been an 82% plus growth in demand for pre-owned smartphones. Our goods category has also witnessed a strong rebound, as demand and supply have gone up by an average of 68% and 25%, respectively, compared to pre-Covid levels. The upcoming festival season is important for us as we expect the gap to be narrowing down between pre and post-Covid levels. There has been a strong uptake of e-commerce across regions, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with consumers there making the greatest shift to online shopping. We will continue to focus on the pre-owned auto segment and are expecting to surpass the demand this festive season.” At an industry level, Arora told us that e-commerce players are leveraging on hyper-personalisation to create individualised experiences on the platform and AI-powered chatbots are being implemented by the online retailers to bring customers close to an offline retail experience with a high engagement rate. Sharing OLX’s plan, Arora added, “This festive season we plan to use innovative solutions via relevant messaging at different levels of the retail journey. Our consumer base is growing organically. During this year’s lockdown, a lot of people moved online and we saw growth, about 30% more daily active users (DAUs) from our previous pre-Covid peak. In the festive season, our huge inventories across segments will contribute to increasing the DAU’s on the platform.” As per Nielsen India’s E-commerce Consumer Panel (E-Analytics Solution), there was a double-digit increase in average spend of online shoppers for electronics and accessories (39%), mobile and accessories (12%), and fashion, including apparel, footwear, and accessories (10%) after the pandemic. Appliances (e.g.TV, WM, refrigerators, etc.) also saw notable shopper spending increase at 9%. E-commerce giant Amazon is also ramping up its product range for the festive season. “Together with thousands of small &amp; medium business and brand partners, we continue to offer our customers the widest selection, convenience, and fast delivery. We are humbled by how millions of Indian customers have made us a part of their daily lives. Also, customers continue to believe that online shopping is the safest way to shop which has been reflecting in all the recent events of Amazon like Prime Day 2021, Great Freedom Festival, Rakhi Store, Onam store and so on. This festive season is not a normal one for reasons we all know and our success metric would be focused on how we can make our sellers successful. Customers can look forward to shopping from a wide selection of products across categories like Home &amp; Kitchen, Fashion &amp; Beauty, Appliances and Smartphones, Grocery essentials and more from the comfort and safety of their homes," said an Amazon India spokesperson. This growth trajectory of e-commerce platforms in India testifies how customers are increasingly recognising the importance of comfort shopping within closed doors, and after seeing their businesses take a plunge in the first three months of the lockdown, more and more sellers are also coming online.

This festive season, e-commerce platforms are betting big on Tier II and III markets, which are likely to contribute $150 million to e-commerce growth this year

Delhi-NCR has emerged as India's digital payments capital whereas Tamil Nadu's Katpadi is the fastest growing city for digital payments with 7X growth in 2022, One97 Communications Limited (OCL), that owns leading payments and financial services company <keyword id="6357120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm" source="Orion">Paytm</keyword>, said in a report on Wednesday. The company helped its users avoid 1,618,796,629 trips to ATMs. Paytm is taking digital payments far and wide, driving financial inclusion with two out of three of its new users coming from smaller cities and towns. According to the aPaytm 2022 Recap' report, which highlighted interesting trends of transactions made through Paytm in 2022, <keyword id="6076084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paytm-UPI" source="Orion">Paytm UPI</keyword> is one of the most preferred payment methods for Indians, with its superfast and secure payments. An intriguing observation is that the maximum number of payments have been done at 7.23 p.m. with Wednesday emerging as the busiest day in the week for digital transactions. Two of the most common names among Paytm's users are Rahul and Pooja, according to the report. Chennai and Trichy in Tamil Nadu have the highest percentage of offline payments on food and beverages while Amritsar saw the highest spend on health and grooming through Paytm. Noida and Nagpur saw the highest percentage of spending via Paytm on micro sellers or street side vendors. Paytm's market in the North East also saw huge growth. The fastest growing cities in the North East for UPI transactions are -- Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh, South Sikkim and Ranipool, and Assam's Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Jorhat and Kamrup, the report mentioned. "As the pioneer of QR and mobile-based payments in India, we continue to see widespread love for the most trusted payments app -- Paytm," said a company spokesperson. "Over the last year, we have seen greater adoption among consumers and merchants, leading to some interesting trends with Paytm UPI leading the way. With the trust bestowed upon us by our users, we remain focused on driving financial inclusion in India," the spokesperson added. One user made transactions in 106 cities across 20 states. Another user booked flights between Mumbai and Delhi 358 times using the Paytm app, said the report. Paytm continues to strengthen its leadership in offline payments with more than 5.5 million merchants now paying subscriptions for payment devices. <keyword id="9418617" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paytm-Soundbox" source="Orion">Paytm Soundbox</keyword> is the sound of merchant transactions in India, with a new merchant and their customers being greeted by its melody every six seconds. With Paytm UPI, the company enables seamless and superfast money transfers. One user referred more than 1,300 of his friends and family to Paytm last year and earned over Rs 1 lakh. "Engaging observations have been seen in merchant transactions with Rs 20 being the most common amount paid on <keyword id="4053117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paytm-merchant" source="Orion">Paytm merchant</keyword> QRs. Varanasi has seen 213 per cent growth in Offline QR transactions," the findings showed. During the online Diwali sale season, the highest amount spent by a single user was Rs 2.8 lakhs. Another festival that saw a high volume of Paytm UPI transactions is Rakhi, with Rs 1,100 being the favourite "shagan". SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/most-anticipated-indian-movies-releasing-in-2023/slidelist/96560782.cms">SRK, Rajnikanth, Ranveer Singh to fire up the silver screens in 2023: most-anticipated Indian movie releases</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indias-digital-ad-spend-estimated-to-surge-to-21-billion-in-the-next-five-years-rising-2-5x-over-fy22-levels-says-redseer/articleshow/96544113.cms">India’s digital ad spend estimated to surge to $21 billion in the next five years, rising 2.5x over FY22 levels, says Redseer</a>

Tamil Nadu's Katpadi is the fastest growing city for digital payments: Paytm report

<ul><li><keyword id="826" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="goa" source="Orion">Goa</keyword> is where everyone’s headed for the long weekends in <keyword id="6415645" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AUGUST" source="Orion">August</keyword>. </li><li>For short haul international destinations, <keyword id="19988" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bali" source="Orion">Bali</keyword> has seen a rise in demand for <keyword id="638735" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flight-bookings" source="Orion">flight bookings</keyword> and queries.</li><li>Travel and hospitality industry is slated to grow by nearly 90% this year.</li></ul>With <keyword id="28240" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="independence-day" source="Orion">Independence Day</keyword> and <keyword id="6385850" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="raksha-bandhan" source="Orion">Raksha Bandhan</keyword> around the corner, August has three long weekends. Indian travelers, after staying home for almost two years, want to make the most of it by planning short getaways in advance. “Long-weekend cheer is back, and many are eagerly waiting to head-out to make the most of this upcoming weekend,” said Vipul Prakash, COO, MakeMyTrip. Companies are seeing an uptick in leisure travel, staycations and people traveling to their hometowns for the long break from August 11- 15. “Coorg, Kerala and Pondicheryy are amongst the top favorite destinations searched by travelers this monsoon,” shared Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO and co-founder of Ixigo. Goa however remains the strongest contender, ranking alongside the edgy suburbs — with more than 100% increase in flight search queries — as the ideal beach destination for unwinding. As per data recorded on Goibibo, there is a consistent week-on-week increase in bookings across hotels and alternate accommodation properties in some of the preferred leisure hotspots. "Currently, across both the segments, we are recording a w-o-w growth in higher single-digit, and we are expecting this momentum to continue over the comings days. We are noticing an uptick in bookings for homebound travel. Data further indicates that 49% of the flight bookings are for travel to tier II and III sectors, suggesting that many are planning to head home to spend the long-weekend and the festival of Rakhi with friends and family," Vipul Prakash, COO, Goibibo told Business Insider India Amongst cities, Bangalore is high on the list. Ooty too is a top favorite destination after Pondicherry. Delhiites and Mumbaikars are heading to the hills of Shimla, Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala. Udaipur and Rishikesh made it to the list. Travel bugs are also flying abroad for short-haul vacations. Vipul Prakash, COO, MakeMyTrip said, “On the international front, people are opting for short-haul travel to Singapore, Thailand and Dubai. Close on the heels are Bali, Istanbul and London – that are seeing a spike in bookings for the said period.” As consumer travel sentiments remain strong towards traveling, the hospitality industry is optimistic about the future of travel and the return of leisure as international borders have reopened. "The sector is expected to grow by around 80%-90% this year," says Aditya Gupta, Senior VP of Yatra.com. “So far, 2022 has been promising for the travel and hospitality industry owing to higher consumer confidence to travel, especially this season," Shreerang Godbole, SVP - product &amp; chief service officer of <keyword id="2808667" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oyo" source="Orion">Oyo</keyword> told Business Insider India. Indians are also shelling out more money for the long weekend, as 4-star hotels see a rise in queries. Aditya Gupta, senior VP of Yatra.com, observed a “hike in demand and queries for premium accommodation options, mostly 4 and 5 star properties across hotels and resorts. There has been a subsequent increase in hotel tariff with the average hotel price being ₹7,000-8,000.” Travel is more flexible today than it ever was due to shifts in trends. For pocket travelers weekend trips often become compacted. For this, hostels have also witnessed a spike in their bookings almost at 100% in destinations like Goa, Udaipur and Coorg. Experts said that more consumers are opting for experiential and unexplored travel destinations today. Even during the typically lean monsoon season, Indian travelers expressed high travel intent for intercity road trips for about 1-3 days. "The yearning for travel still runs strong across the country," said Godbole. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/check-out-best-deals-on-smart-led-tvs-in-amazon-festival-sale-2022/articleshow/93363340.cms">Amazon Great Freedom Festival Sale 2022: Check out early deals on smart TVs</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/meta-rolls-out-nft-support-on-instagram-to-100-countries/articleshow/93362860.cms">Meta rolls out NFT support on Instagram to 100 countries</a>

You Searched For "Rakhi festive sales" and got 6 results

Rakhi festive sales expected to surge over Rs 12,000 crore across country: Confederation of All India Traders

ANI

Janmashtami festivities drive business across India, sales exceed Rs 25,000 crore: CAIT

ANI

Best tech gifts for your sisters this Rakhi

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This festive season, e-commerce platforms are betting big on Tier II and III markets, which are likely to contribute $150 million to e-commerce growth this year

Karuna Sharma

Tamil Nadu's Katpadi is the fastest growing city for digital payments: Paytm report

IANS

August has a long weekend and Indian consumers are packing their bags to travel to Goa and Bali

Soniya Tiwari