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<ul><li>Gold prices are falling for the third consecutive week as the Indian economy recovers and the number of COVID-19 cases decline.</li><li>The diminishing value of the yellow metal is good news for customers looking to buy up gold ahead of the summer wedding season and <keyword id="126295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaya-Tritiya">Akshaya Tritiya</keyword>.</li><li>Jewellers are optimistic that the fall in the price of gold and the upcoming festival season will drum up demand for the physical product.</li></ul>Gold prices are finally falling after a year of being on the rise. And, people in the world’s biggest market for gold, India, are taking advantage of the opportunity. Benchmark gold futures in the country have dropped 20% from a record high in August last year of ₹56,200. They are basically a deal to trade gold at terms decided now but with a settlement date in the future. Moreover, as compared to the beginning of 2021, gold prices are down by over ₹5,000 from highs of ₹48,500. This means the precious metal has technically entered bear territory. “Gold prices fell for the third consecutive week as risk on sentiments kept investors away from precious metals,” said HDFC Securities in its report dated March 8. For consumers, there couldn’t be better news with the summer wedding season just around the corner and Akshaya Tritiya — pegged as an auspicious day to buy gold — falling on May 14. Why is the price of gold falling? Simply put, consumers are no longer looking for a safe haven store of currency. During the coronavirus pandemic, the markets were volatile and rates offered by banks were sub par, giving gold the edge over others as a store of value. Now that the number of COVID-19 cases are slowing down and the economy is on the track to recovery, gold prices are coming back down. Investors are instead putting money into US government gold yields to earn higher returns. “Gold prices declined on a stronger dollar as traders and investors switched to the best alternative to gold.” noted HDFC Securities. As a result, the dollar index rose by 1.2%. Government officials told <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/gold-s-slump-boosts-indian-buying-ahead-of-wedding-season">Bloomberg</a> that imports have jumped 41% in February to the highest that they’ve been since November 2019, which is another indicator of demand coming back. It’s time to buy up gold Last year may have been stellar to buy gold on the commodity exchange, but physical consumption was in the pits. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), the demand for jewellery plunged by 34% in 2020 as compared to the year before. Now, the demand for physical gold is seeing an uptick as prices dip to a near one-year low. It also helps that the Modi administration reduced import duty on the yellow metal from 12.5% to 7.5%. "GJC had been representing this concern for many years and we are glad that the government has acknowledged it and reduced the import duty," said chairman of All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) in a statement. Lower prices, however, are only one part of the picture. In India, gold holds an important place in Indian weddings and the summer wedding season is set to occur between mid-April to May. Jewellers are also hoping that Akshaya Tritiya — the second-most auspicious day to buy gold for Hindus after Dhanteras — will also lead to a surge in demand. “The festival and wedding looks good. The investment demand has come back, and the jewelry demand will come in after the rates stabilize,” said Ashish Pethe, chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council in a <a href="https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/gold-s-slump-boosts-indian-buying-ahead-of-wedding-season">statement</a>. He believes that the demand will also see a boost since a lot of weddings that were postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic will be scheduled for 2021. Brokerage HDFC Securities expects gold prices to remain low in the coming week, unlikely to dip below ₹44,000 per 10 grams. Analysts believe the rates of precious metal may continue to fall given the sharp recovery in economic activity and a slowdown in COVID-19 infections. However, gold could turn bullish again if central banks choose to step in. Sovereign debt for all countries has increased during the pandemic and the balance sheets are bloated in the face of public expenditure. “We do not think yield will sustainably rise given the fact that governments do not favour higher yields on their accumulated gigantic debt,” said the lead analyst of institutional equities at YES Securities, Hitesh Jain. Rising rates of yields — the interest rate that the government has to pay out for borrowing money from the market — is not favourable with high debt. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-blockchain-tech-to-make-sms-more-secure-is-leaving-users-locked-out-of-their-account/articleshow/81409145.cms">India’s blockchain tech to make SMS more secure is leaving users locked out of their accounts — and potentially more at risk</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-is-using-the-quad-alliance-to-get-help-from-the-us-japan-and-australia-to-match-chinas-covid-19-vaccine-push/articleshow/81408044.cms">India is asking the QUAD for money to boost vaccine production and counter China’s moves on the global stage</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/elon-musks-net-worth-has-eroded-60-billion-in-just-two-months-as-teslas-market-cap-falls-35/articleshow/81407453.cms">Elon Musk’s wealth has eroded $60 billion in just two months as Tesla's market cap falls 35%</a>

Gold prices are falling and the world’s biggest market for the yellow metal is hoping for more shoppers

<ul><li>The usual fervor of the Big Fat Indian Summer weddings have given way to downsized miniature ceremonies this season. </li><li>However, consumers are investing the money they save from these small weddings in gold to secure their future. </li><li>On the back of these trends, <keyword id="1483203" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ramesh-Kalyanaraman">Ramesh Kalyanaraman</keyword>, Executive Director, <keyword id="413856" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalyan-Jewellers">Kalyan Jewellers</keyword> is optimistic that the brand will be able to expand its customer basket size by 30%. </li><li>We caught up with Kalyanaraman to understand how intimate weddings emerging as a trend has affected the <keyword id="556004" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="jewellery-industry">jewellery industry</keyword>, various safety precautions it has taken across operational showrooms, and a lot more. </li></ul>The global pandemic hasn’t affected Indians' love for weddings and gold. They are coming up with out-of-the-box solutions, whether it is to organize weddings virtually and/or buy diamond studded or gold plated masks. Over the past three quarters, the value of gold has continued to accelerate. As a result, Kalyan Jewellers is now looking to increase its customer basket size by at least 30%. The brand also managed to close 10% of its annual <keyword id="126295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaya-Tritiya">Akshaya Tritiya</keyword> business with a unique initiative that was tailor-made for quarantine. It launched a Gold Ownership Certificate which allowed customers to purchase and own gold on Akshaya Tritiya. The certificate could be redeemed against physical gold, in the form of jewellery or coins, on or before October 31, 2020. The brand is still witnessing ‘a steady stream of footfalls’ across its operational showrooms from consumers who bought the certificate. Looking at these trends, Kalyan Jewellers’ Executive Director, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, voiced his optimism for the recovery of the sector. He shared with us how intimate weddings emerging as a trend has affected the jewellery industry, various safety precautions it has taken across operational showrooms and why the brand decided to align its marketing monnies on digital to adjust to the volatile market. Excerpts: Q. Tell us a bit about your campaign #MuharatAtHome. What is the idea behind it? What are the challenges you are facing in conducting ad shoots considering the restrictions? Weddings have always brought people together. This year, with lockdown restrictions in place during peak wedding season, it was presumed that everyone would postpone their wedding plans, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that this wasn’t the case at all. We saw families trade grand ceremonies for intimate functions, ruled by minimalism, simplicity and personalization. It is this trend of intimate weddings that our #MuhuratAtHome campaign captures. For the ad campaign we opted for an ‘at-home’ shoot with limited cast and crew, following state specified shoot protocols. As this is going to be a Pan-India campaign with multiple iterations, it was shot in three cities, with three separate teams. In each of these locations, the advertising agencies involved, followed the guidelines issued by local authorities and recreated a home-like intimate wedding set up. Q. How difficult was the lockdown period for Kalyan Jewellers? Initially it felt strange, because this was the first time in all these years that all our showrooms were shut at the same time. After a week, we realised that we will need to make good of this time, and so we started using it more productively to strategize, realign priorities and plan our next steps. For the staff, we conducted online training sessions. We also did customer outreach more as a gesture than anything else. We were actively involved in many CSR initiatives, be it collaborating with our brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan and Sony Pictures Network. During Akshaya Tritiya, at the request of regular customers, we launched the Gold Ownership Certificate which allowed customers to purchase and own gold on Akshaya Tritiya. The certificate could be redeemed for against physical gold, in the form of jewellery or coins, on or before October 31, 2020. To our surprise, this was very well received, and we managed to do close to 10% of our annual Akshaya Tritiya business with this initiative. Q. How are your preparations for unlocking going? What are the various safety precautions you have taken across operational showrooms? We have heightened the safety and hygiene measures across our operational showrooms to safeguard the health and safety of our patrons and the community at large. All customers are given temperate checks with handheld scanners at the entrance. Customers are required to use single-use glove in the showrooms, and this is made available to them upon entry. Masks are provided to anyone who is not wearing it already. Deep cleaning of showrooms is undertaken at regular intervals through the day, and all high touch point zones like counter tops, door knobs etc. are frequently sanitized. We feel that going forward, even when the lockdown is completely lifted, these hygiene practices will become the new normal. Q. How have you observed consumer behavior changing lately? And what are some of the consumer buying trends witnessed in regions where showrooms have reopened? Over the past three quarters, we have witnessed a surge in gold prices and the value of gold, as an asset, has continued to accelerate. It is the only asset that has proved to be a promising and safe investment option for consumers across the country. In line with this, we are looking at an increase in the customer basket size by at least 30%. Furthermore, with DIY or intimate weddings emerging as a trend, the wedding-related expenses on venue booking, catering, etc. have reduced and customers have more disposable income at their end, which is now being allocated to investing in gold jewellery. Additionally, shoppers who have postponed their weddings are making purchases as planned by availing our bridal lounge facility, for a personalized shopping experience. Currently, we are witnessing a steady stream of footfalls across our operational showrooms. A segment of those footfalls are customers who are reaping the benefits of pre-booking their gold jewellery or those who purchased the Gold Ownership Certificate this Akshaya Tritiya. Some are there to exchange their older gold for newer pieces. Looking at the current trend, we are fairly optimistic about the recovery of the sector. Q. What has your marketing strategy been during the lockdown? Did you modify your media mix, with marketing investments getting shifted from one medium to another? One of the biggest trends that has emerged out of the nationwide lockdown is the huge surge in screen time spent by Indians across digital platforms. In line with this, brands have begun to align their marketing budgets towards digital, social media &amp; OTT, especially when it comes to placing new content. In line with this, we introduced temporary changes to our media mix with a more digital-centric approach. For campaigns such as #MaaTuneSonaKaDilPaya (Mother’s Day), we leveraged crowdsourced photographs from our social media community wherein some of the best moments were handpicked to feature in a campaign video. Amitabh Bachchan was the voice of the campaign, and it was well received. The #MuhuratAtHome campaign is also a result of a similar online-only strategy. Q. We are sure the future of retail and jewellery industry will never be the same. How are you making sure you opt to digital media, online selling policies and physical distancing need to help your consumer? The unique aspect to the jewellery business is the concept of privacy while shopping which has always existed. Families come together and prefer to sit together, a little away from other families that are shopping. Kalyan Jewellers’ showrooms are therefore standalone showrooms, which are either mid-size, large format or flagship showrooms, designed to allow this unique shopping practice. Our counters are also demarcated as wedding, gemstone, diamond or daily wear jewellery – which is an added advantage during these times of social distancing. (Auspicious days like Akshaya Tritiya or Dhanteras are the only times when this rule doesn’t apply.) Additionally, as mentioned earlier we have launched appointment facilities for our bridal lounge services which can be availed by wedding shoppers for a personalized shopping experience. Q. Do you think this experience will change the way you market your brand in the future? The USP of the brand will remain the same, but the channels of marketing might change. Naturally, when you change the channel, the way you communicate the same brand USP will get amended. In the coming years, we intend to focus on targeted marketing campaigns. Q. The pandemic and the lockdown has brought with it a lot of learning. What are your major learnings from this experience so far? During the lockdown, we re-evaluated many aspects of our business, and realised that with careful planning, we can cut costs under various heads, without affecting the overall performance of the business. We intend to implement this learning even going forward. With showrooms spread across the country, our senior and mid-level management used to travel extensively. Now with the lockdown rules, travel has reduced significantly, and we are managing our operations remotely. This saves both money and time. Going forward, we plan to carefully rationalise travel needs. Our marketing campaigns have also evolved post the lockdown, and we are looking at targeting online campaigns instead of larger campaigns, and this is also working well for us. Another lesson for the future.

Indians are buying more gold from the money they would otherwise have spent on big fat weddings

<ul><li><keyword id="4465249" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-gold">Digital gold</keyword> is luring Indian consumers on the festival of Akshay Tritiya this year. </li><li>In March, digital payments arm of Google, Google Pay also launched gold investment options to its customers in India. </li><li>Ever since the launch, the digital gold market has seen strong growth, with an estimated over 80 million people who had digital accounts as of March 2019.</li></ul>Indians love and swear by gold as a trusted investment asset so much they even have festivals popular for buying gold. Akshay Tritiya, an annual spring festival in India, is one such fare. But this year, the festival has taken a digital twist. With the launch of ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-pays-new-tactic-to-take-on-rivals-paytm-phonepe-in-india-introduces-digital-gold-offerings/articleshow/68609832.cms">Digital Gold’</a> in India, Indians considering buying gold on the occasion of <keyword id="126295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaya-Tritiya">Akshaya Tritiya</keyword>, also have a number of digital options if they fancy. Given that, National Stock Exchange (NSE) is even conducting a <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/money/digital-gold-vs-sovereign-gold-bond-vs-gold-etf-vs-jewellery-important-watch-outs-before-you-buy-gold-on-akshay-tritiya/1569187/">trade session</a> dedicated to gold exchange and trade on Tuesday, on account of Akshaya Tritiya to give Indians this “smart investment option.” In March, digital payments arm of Google, Google Pay also launched gold investment options to its customers in India. What is ‘Digital Gold?’ ‘Digital gold’ is basically buying and selling of gold via online platforms and mobile wallets. These sites are reportedly offering everything from gold coins, gold bars and even gold jewellery, but in the form of ‘digital gold.’ The digital method allows one to buy 99.9% 24 karat gold. One can buy gold in small quantities in rupees or grams digitally and that can be redeemed at a physical gold shop against jewellery or sold later. However, the price at which the digital gold is sold is valid for only for 6 minutes. Where to buy? Digital wallets including Google Pay, PhonePe, Mobikwik and PayTm, among others have all rolled out the ‘digital gold’ option on their platforms in partnership with MMTC-PAMP or SafeGold, under the Gold Accumulation Plan(GAP). SafeGold is a joint venture between Invent Capital, a private equity firm, and World Gold Council. Users can buy digital gold via online wallets and store in online accounts — which are linked to GAP. Why the digital mode? Digital gold is being touted as a “smart and economic investment option.” That’s because while the <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/digital-gold-a-convenient-investment-method-or-a-ponzi-scheme-in-making-119041800720_1.html">prices of gold</a> may vary between 4%-5% on the retail price of gold from the actual price, the price variation on digital gold is said to vary between 1.5% to 2%. There’s also no storage cost for digital gold and can be kept for a maximum of five years period. After that, the user can either sell it or can be converted into gold jewellery. Ever since the launch, the digital gold market has seen strong growth, with an estimated over 80 million people who had digital accounts as of March 2019. But there are also concerns over the lack of <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/digital-gold-a-convenient-investment-method-or-a-ponzi-scheme-in-making-119041800720_1.html">regulation</a> in the emerging sector. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/google-pays-new-tactic-to-take-on-rivals-paytm-phonepe-in-india-introduces-digital-gold-offerings/articleshow/68609832.cms">Google Pay wants to offer Indians their favourite investment option – gold</a>

This Indian festival popular for gold shopping has gone digital this year to lure millennials

<keyword id="6354387" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jewellery" source="Orion">Jewellery</keyword> consumption, in terms of value, is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent in this financial year, mainly on account of increase in <keyword id="46002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold-prices" source="Orion">gold prices</keyword>, a report said on Friday. Rating agency <keyword id="6354972" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="icra" source="Orion">Icra</keyword> has revised upward its forecast for the year-on-year (YoY) <keyword id="19910440" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="domestic-jewellery-consumption" source="Orion">domestic jewellery consumption</keyword> growth (in value terms) in FY24 to 10-12 per cent from the earlier estimates of 8-10 per cent, primarily driven by the rise in gold prices. Jewellery consumption is estimated to have risen by more than 15 per cent YoY in the first half of FY24, aided by stable demand during 'Akshaya Tritiya', a festival considered auspicious for buying precious metals, and higher gold prices. However, Icra projects the growth rate to moderate to 6-8 per cent in the second half of this financial year due to sustained tepid rural demand amid persistent <keyword id="22195" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inflation" source="Orion">inflation</keyword>. After remaining volatile between December 2022 and April 2023, gold prices were relatively stable in the first half of FY24, although up 14 per cent compared to the average prices during the year-ago period, noted the report. The elevated price levels supported revenue expansion of most jewellery retailers in the face of muted volume growth, it said. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the evolving global macro-economic environment could keep gold prices elevated in the near term. The spike in gold prices since early October 2023 and persistent inflationary headwinds remain key risks to demand, it stated. "Jewellers of the organised market is projected to record a healthy revenue expansion of 15-18 per cent YoY in FY24 on the back of their planned retail expansions and a gradual shift in consumer preferences towards branded jewellers. The organised jewellery retailers are expected to outperform the industry over the medium term supported by tailwinds from accelerated formalisation of the industry," Icra Vice President and Sector Head Sujoy Saha said. Icra has projected some moderation in FY24 in the operating margins of organised players owing to the front-loaded operating costs for planned store additions and increased advertising expenditure in the face of rising competition. Nevertheless, the benefits of economies of scale are likely to support the operating margins, which are estimated to hover in the range of 7.5-8 per cent in the near to medium term. Despite the projected increase in debt levels to fund the inventory for new stores, the debt protection metrics for the players are estimated to remain comfortable. "The organised jewellers had recommenced their retail expansion in FY23, after a brief hiatus in FY21 and FY22, with the store count estimated to have risen by more than 20 per cent during the year. The momentum is likely to continue over the near to medium term with an estimated increase in store count by 18-20 per cent YoY in FY24, supporting their revenue growth," Saha added.

Jewellery consumption to grow by 10-12 pc value-wise in FY24 amid rise in gold prices: Report

<ul><li><keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="brands">Brands</keyword> have seen early signs of recovery during <keyword id="126295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Akshaya-Tritiya">Akshaya Tritiya</keyword> and <keyword id="6385850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Raksha-Bandhan">Raksha Bandhan</keyword> and their businesses are approaching normalcy. </li><li>After surviving the storm during the lockdown, brands have a lot of hope resting on the festive season to bring in cheer and profitability in their businesses. </li><li>With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, we decided to speak to a few brands across categories on how they are preparing for the festive season and what kind of expectations they have pinned on the latter half of the year for recovery. </li></ul>Brands are pinning a lot of hopes on the festive season this year to help them bounce back. They have started working on their advertising campaigns in full swing to win back consumer trust and help shape the <keyword id="29547" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Market">market</keyword> sentiment. The festive season, which begins in August and continues till January, often results in a disproportionate increase in demand of goods and services, marking an important period for most consumer brands. However, the pandemic this year has made consumers frugal and the current market unrest has taken a sharp toll on the total spends. As per Madison’s report, AdEx collapsed by as much as 65% because of COVID-19 in Q2, indicating how badly the economy has been performing so far. Last year for Television, the Indian Premier League (IPL), ICC World Cup and Elections in Q2’19 contributed around Rs 3,000 crore (34% to the TV AdEx in Q2’19). However, the pandemic removed both these money-spinners from the AMJ quarter this year, which has added to the decline. This year, brands are trying to come up with innovative solutions to reach out to their consumers at their door steps and are optimistic about seeing a stable growth in the next few months. Fashion e-commerce giant Myntra has seen early signs of recovery and <keyword id="1549018" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-sentiments">consumer sentiments</keyword> picking up during Raksha Bandhan as it witnessed a surge in demand for women's ethnic wear, men’s occasion wear, kids wear, and accessories such as watches, handbags. It also saw 3.5 million customers shopping during the June edition of EORS, a testimony of how consumer sentiments are getting back on track. “The festive season, followed by winter, is the most exciting quarter for Myntra. This year we are expecting a massive scale and growth in festive buying as consumer sentiment continues to be strong. Myntra is already operating at a pre-lockdown scale, and this upcoming festive season will definitely help us in boosting our growth further. Our focus will continue to be on enhancing customer experience by providing high-quality merchandise in a curated and personalized store, along with safe and fast delivery. Our new customer acquisition is at an all-time high and we are ensuring we help them in all their lifestyle needs. We are witnessing a spike in our Tier II and Tier III customers and orders as well,” said Ayyappan Rajagopal, Head of Business, Myntra. Another new-age brand Melorra that specializes in modern jewellery, has managed to avoid the losses incurred by various other businesses during the pandemic months. It saw a 400% growth in the last financial year, and is confident of matching that level of growth with a strong performance in the upcoming festive season. “The festive season this year is expected to be even more impactful than the past for Melorra. Firstly, the lockdown that started in March slowed down the jewellery purchase due to disruption in the delivery logistics, and most of the people are looking to buy jewellery now that the deliveries have resumed. Given the pandemic, all festivities in the first 2 quarters of the FY was a washout, hence there could be a trend reversal during festive season – but not at the previous levels. Since the prices are also at an all-time high, customers would opt for lightweight and trendy gold jewellery that is not only stylish but also easy on the pocket. Melorra caters to women who live in the moment and do not keep gold stacked away in lockers like before. Hence, it is definitely a key period for the brand and the jewellery industry at large,” said Sharat Krishnan, Head of Marketing, Melorra. The festive season has always been the most important part of the year for the jewellery business. Titan has already seen 80% recovery because people are celebrating their milestones with their families at home. It has a campaign and launch of a new collection lined up for October. Ajoy Chawla, CEO Jewellery Division, Titan Company Ltd sees no reason why the festive season shouldn’t be as good as last year. “It would be as good as last year or slightly lesser. The most optimistic expectation is that it should be as good as last year. Even if it is 90% or 80% close to last year’s performance, that’s good. We’re currently seeing 80% recovery and this is my best estimate. We’ve seen this recovery because people are still celebrating milestones like anniversary, birthdays, etc. They understand that the reality is grim but how long can you keep your life on hold? They want to feel good. Also, Q3 is wedding season but the festive season is delayed this year so the season may start a little slower unless there are massive rebound cases. Some markets also take two steps forward and three steps back, there is always some fluctuation. However, after October, we are hoping to see more stability. We will also launch a new collection and campaign around October,” shared Ajoy Chawla, CEO Jewellery Division, Titan Company Ltd. On what the consumer sentiment would likely be this festive season, Nidhi Sinha, Head of Content, Mintel India said, "One of the most important things people are looking forward to once the restrictions of the pandemic are lifted is meeting friends and family. However, according to research from Mintel’s Global COVID-19 Tracker in August, 42% of Indian consumers are looking forward to meeting family and friends in person compared to 34% of consumers in early July. This desire has accelerated due to the onset of the festive season." Mintel's research data indicates that consumer sentiment is improving and there is more willingness to spend on luxury items and good brands in the market. Sinha added, "Ganesh Chaturthi, which is round the corner, would be one such important festival that would entail celebrations in a different way so as to be in line with the pandemic protocols. As people continue to be under restrictions due to the pandemic, this festival is expected to be low key compared to regular times. However, Mintel research highlights that 30% of Indian consumers are planning to spend more on clothes and accessories, presenting an opportunity for brands. This is indicative that people are planning to spend on indulgences despite a negative economic outlook. Brands like Gemini oil, Ferns and Petals and Cadbury have been very agile in talking about the changing face of the festivities and how it is an opportunity for people to spend such festivals at home with their loved ones.” Festive season is an important period for the retail industry. It is a time when consumer spending is at an all-time high. One of the leading sportswear brands PUMA has multiple new launches planned throughout the season to cater to increasing demand. Telling us how the consumer sentiment changed in retail, Abhishek Ganguly, General Manager, PUMA India and Southeast Asia said, “As we’re witnessing right now, online channels will continue to be a convenient option for consumers to shop. Given the precautions around health and safety, we are seeing people shop online or go to a store where they are confident about the hygiene measures being implemented. Having said that, as lockdown continues to be relaxed across the country, we are seeing a steady week-on-week increase in footfalls with consumers visiting our stores to buy fashion essentials.” On festive expectations, Ganguly added, “Over the last 3-4 months, we have been seeing steady growth across both our offline and online channels. The conversions have increased substantially from pre-Covid times as people exactly know what they want to buy and are shopping with a clear intent. Given the trend of how things are continuing to improve compared to the previous months, we are very hopeful of a strong September and October. We hope this trend continues through the festive season and beyond.” Electronics giant Philips has launched a few new products like Smart Hair Dryer, Eyebrows Trimmer this month to ride on the improving consumer sentiment due to the festive season. Gulbahar Taurani, Vice-President, Personal Health, Philips Indian Subcontinent, Philips India, said, “The trends indicate that this is going to be a good season. We will have our challenges in terms of supply chain, partial lockdown, movement of products because the number of COVID cases are going up. From a demand standpoint, we see a very positive sentiment. I believe that this is going to stay, which will drive the festive season. As a part of the festive season, we had a couple of new launches last month itself.” The furniture segment, which was on complete halt during the lockdown as it did not fall under essentials, is also gearing up for the festive months. Given that individuals are spending more time at home due to the lockdown, home-grown brand Pepperfry witnessed an uptick in demand for WFH furniture and décor. In fact, Pepperfry is already at 100% of its pre-lockdown sales volumes. Kashyap Vadapalli, Chief Marketing Officer &amp; Business Head, Pepperfry is now anticipating to see this trend boost their sales further as people continue to focus on making their home spaces better equipped for everything. The brand is upping its digital media game and has launched a new campaign called ‘Swadeshi is Great’. “Given that household products and celebrations at home play such an important role during the festive season, consumers are constantly looking to revamp/renovate the space such that the home category witnesses a natural upswing in demand during festivals. With this combination of consumer adaptation and brand innovation, we are positive about the consumers’ outlook and demand for categories like home décor and furniture. As consumers have become apprehensive with regards to shopping offline or even stepping outside, they are increasingly adapting to buying online. Our online business is already at 120% of pre-COVID levels. As we move along, we plan to keep innovating with digital tools to enhance our consumers’ buying experiences,” said Vadapalli. The sudden outbreak of the pandemic brought a lot of businesses to a standstill. However, one of the few sectors that have seen an upturn amid the nationwide lockdown is EdTech. Now, to evolve with changing times and to prepare for the upcoming festive season, upGrad is looking at altering its marketing strategy. It is shifting its spends towards TV as consumers would want to spend more time together, while supplementing it with digital. Telling us what kind of changes EdTech has gone through lately, Arjun Mohan, CEO-India, upGrad said, “Given the current scenario, consumer priorities are being re-calibrated. They are now undergoing a behavioral shift which is directly reflecting on their spends. Unlike earlier, individuals today have ample time and money to spend on upskilling options, which otherwise, was parked for a later date. upGrad has seen a big behavioral shift in the mindset of parents too towards learning online, as they have seen their kids benefiting from it in real-time. This is one of the major drivers that has created a massive demand for our specialised online programs, which not only enhances the domain knowledge, revise skill sets, etc. but also help professionals achieve desired career outcomes.” All brands voiced their confidence that the worst has passed, and the markets will only move towards normalcy hereon.

Festive Marketing: Brands are optimistic that improving consumer sentiments will help them bounce back and bring in profitability

Gold and gold ornaments are something integral to Indian tradition. Gold is considered as a symbol of luck, prosperity, abundance and auspiciousness. In fact people see gold as embodying Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in it. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Indians love gold" comment="subhead" text="Indians love gold">Indians love gold</cmsannotation> Indian households take a sentimental interest in buying gold. India has recently overtaken China in becoming the largest importer of gold on the earth. People consider it auspicious to <keyword id="2329317" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="buy-gold" source="Orion">buy gold</keyword> on festivals like Makar Sankranti, Dussehra, Navratri, Gudi Parva, <keyword id="188" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali" source="Orion">Diwali</keyword>, Akshaya Tritiya and <keyword id="4067" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dhanteras" source="Orion">Dhanteras</keyword>. It is considered highly auspicious to <keyword id="8248136" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="buy-gold-on-dhanteras" source="Orion">buy gold on Dhanteras</keyword>. Some of the beliefs attesting this tradition are discussed here. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Shopping for gold on Dhanteras" comment="subhead" text="Shopping for gold on Dhanteras">Shopping for <keyword id="6994209" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold-on-dhanteras" source="Orion">gold on Dhanteras</keyword></cmsannotation> On the day of Dhanteras, the sale of gold reaches one of its annual peaks in India. The term Dhanteras translates as dhan (wealth) teras (thirteenth day). People buy gold bars, gold ornaments, gold coins silver coins or silver ware on this day. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The legend behind Dhanteras" comment="subhead" text="The legend behind Dhanteras">The legend behind Dhanteras</cmsannotation> Once upon a time, there was a king named Hima. He had a son of sixteen years. The king got him married to a girl. Astrologers predicted that the prince would die of snake bite on the fourth day of his marriage. This information made the king and the bride misery stricken. The bride was a clever and highly devoted girl. She hatched a plan to save the life of her husband. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Dhanteras is celebrated for the first time" comment="subhead" text="Dhanteras is celebrated for the first time">Dhanteras is celebrated for the first time</cmsannotation> On the day when the astrologers had predicted the death of the boy, the girl collected all the ornaments and gold in the palace and placed them in a heap in front of the main door. She advised the prince not to sleep and sat with him narrating some interesting stories and singing some melodious songs. The couple sat awake throughout the night. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Lord Yama arrives" comment="subhead" text="Lord Yama arrives">Lord Yama arrives</cmsannotation> During the scheduled time of taking the prince’s life, Lord Yama arrived near the palace. He took the form of a serpent which was supposed to bite the prince to death. As the serpent neared the main door of the palace, the heap of ornaments and valuables blocked its way, the dazzling brilliance of the items nearly blinded the vision of the snake. The snake could not enter the palace. Meanwhile, the snake was charmed by the melodious songs sung by the girl. Hence the snake laid there all night long listening to the songs. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The time of death lapses" comment="subhead" text="The time of death lapses">The time of death lapses</cmsannotation> The time that the planets had scheduled for the prince’s death elapsed and the serpent lost its mood to bite the prince. Lord Yama in the disguise of the snake left the house without taking the life of the prince. Thus, with her clever strategies and devotion to God, the girl could successfully save the life of the prince. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Dhanteras tradition begins" comment="subhead" text="Dhanteras tradition begins">Dhanteras tradition begins</cmsannotation> The legend of how the prince was saved from death inspired the tradition of buying gold on the day of Dhanteras. Gold is kept in puja on the day and a lamp known as Yama Deep is lit in front of the main door seeking the blessings of Lord Yama and goddess Lakshmi.

Why Indian people purchase gold on Dhanteras festival

Mumbai, Apr 26 () The jewellery industry, which has come to a standstill due to the lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic, is expecting complete sales washout on the day of Akshaya Tritiya on Sunday as compared to last year, even as many retailers are doling out innovative offers to attract customers. "This year Akshaya Tritiya has fallen within the lockdown 2.0, which will result in complete shutdown of jewellery shops. Whatever sales will take place will be on the digital platform only," All India Gems and Jewellery Domestic Council Chairman Anantha Padmanabhan told here. "We are expecting 97-98 per cent decline in business this year on the day of the festival compared to last year," he added. He said jewellers have come out with innovative offers to attract customers for digital purchases, including locking of prices, gold ownership certificates, among others. "Any physical delivery or purchase will happen after the lockdown. We expect the industry will gradually limp back to normalcy with May and June being extremely slow. We expect the demand to peak during Diwali," he added. Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is an annual spring time festival considered auspicious in many regions (especially in the south and the west) for beginning new ventures, marriages, expensive investments such as in gold. PNG Jewellers Chairman and Managing Director Saurabh Gadgil said that for the first time ever, gold buying on Akshaya Tritiya will be completely online. "The turnout will not be like last year and jewellers are doing business by offering e-vouchers, e-certificates as physical buying and delivery at present is not possible due to the lockdown," he said. Jewellers are also offering a price-lock as gold is ruling at around Rs 48,000 per 10 grams, and will go up further as stocks will dwindle due to absence of imports on account of lockdown. Kalyan Jewellers Chairman and Managing Director T S Kalyanaraman said this year's sales cannot be compared to regular sales during Akshaya Tritiya. Unlike in the past years, Kalyan Jewellers does not have a full-fledged Akshaya Tritiya campaign this year, he said. "Over the past 25 odd years, Akshaya Tritiya has always been about buying gold at the showroom. However, this year, owing to a change in status quo with the lockdown, we have launched the 'Gold Ownership Certificate' to keep the annual gold purchase tradition going," he added. However, considering the limited time since the announcement of Kalyan Jeweller's Akshaya Tritiya offering and given the current circumstances, the company is expecting to clock about 10 per cent of its usual Akshaya Tritiya sales this year, he said. SM RVKRVK

Jewellery sector expects sales washout on Akshaya Tritiya; COVID-19 forces jewellers to go digital

<ul><li>In our latest series, we talk to brands about how they have been marketing during these adverse times, the things they have learnt and how they are preparing for the somewhat uncertain future.</li><li><keyword id="9451504" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ranjani-krishnaswamy">Ranjani Krishnaswamy</keyword>, General Manager - Marketing, Jewellery Division, <keyword id="2028078" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Titan-Company-Limited">Titan Company Limited</keyword> believes that the future of retail and jewellery industry is secure.</li><li>She shared with us a few consumer shopping trends that point towards an optimistic growth pattern, Titan Jewellery’s unlocking plan and larger marketing strategy. </li></ul>One would assume that the pandemic has pushed consumers to prioritise food, home and shelter. However, the kind of response Titan Jewellery has seen from its audience during the lockdown proves that they are becoming more organised and want to be prepared in every field. With the volatility caused by COVID-led lockdown in the share market, consumers are turning to buy and invest in the yellow metal. Audience from metro cities, Tier I and Tier II are open to planning their long-term investments and are buying <keyword id="6379337" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold-jewellery">gold jewellery</keyword> to secure their future. As a result, Titan Jewellery saw 1 million visitors on its website, hinting that the market is slowly picking up its tide. To meet this demand from consumers, Titan decided to open 90% of its stores in India. The jewellery giant also upped its digital game by introducing video calling features, providing live assistance to consumers, facilitating appointment-based purchases and launching digital campaigns to help its consumers adjust to the new normal and address their queries phygitally. We further caught up with Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager - Marketing, Jewellery Division, <keyword id="1824765" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Titan-company">Titan Company</keyword> Limited, who is optimistic about retail and jewellery industry’s future, to understand what else the brand has in its stores for the unlocking period, a few lessons the team has learnt during the lockdown and future of retail shopping in India. Excerpts: Q. Tell us a bit about your latest campaign. What is the idea behind it? How difficult was it to execute it considering the restrictions? As a responsible brand, Tanishq believes that every little act of kindness and support is a blessing earned. This campaign brings to life the concept of blessed gold which is fondly called Dua Ka Sona. The thought of crafting a campaign relevant to the current pandemic is based on empathy as an emotion. We are not just in the business of selling jewellery but we believe in valuing the craft and craftsman equally. It’s only when our Karigars thrive, we as a business will be purposeful and wholesome in its true sense. Through this campaign, we have attempted to showcase how our efforts during this pandemic translated into blessings. Dua Ka Sona 2.0 showcases the ethical, responsible and sustainable business practices employed by the brand since its inception. With an honest attempt to give back to the society, the brand has taken sincere and proactive steps to uplift and support the lives of karigars and help them deal with the effects of covid. Understanding and quickly nurturing the needs of the Karigars and community at large, Tanishq walked the complete mile to help more than 20,000 families in every way possible. From supplying essentials and medicines to the elderly, from providing food to over 15000 karigars and migrants to arranging special financial aid, from virtual up-skilling and vocational training to enable karigars to further polish their skill sets and strict adherence to sanitize and follow safety norms is all a part of the deeper Karigar connect program which have been showcased in the campaign. As a part of the Tata group, the very fabric of goodness is ingrained in our ethos. We further extended kindness in more ways by providing essentials, PPE’s and medicines to covid warriors and communities in need, thus helping the entire value chain involved in standing together in these trying times. Given the current restrictions, it was challenging to bring together this campaign in a no travel and no shoot scenario. Having said that, we were able to achieve the right balance of emotions and acts of kindness done in the covid context by borrowing some footage from the earlier campaign. Q. How difficult was the lockdown period for Tanishq? How are your preparations for unlocking going? What are the various precautions you have taken? The lockdown was tough on all businesses but I think staying positive and keeping a focus on the changing times has helped Tanishq stay optimistic and ahead of the curve. We launched e-Akshaya Tritiya during the lockdown and received a great positive response. We had close to 1+ million visitors/browsers on our website, indicating a lot of customer interest. The ticket size online has jumped 2.5 to 3 times than our usual online average ticket size. Today almost 90% of our stores are open and Tanishq customers are at the heart of everything we do. To make jewellery shopping experience seamless for our customers we introduced new digital features like video calling, live assistance and appointment based shopping at our stores and at Tanishq.co.in. Customers have the option of getting the products delivered at their doorstep or they can choose to visit the store by booking an appointment and try out the shortlisted products. We rolled out a ‘Gold Standard’ safety ebook that reiterates company’s commitment to safety and well-being of customers and its employees at the store. It covers all staff and customer touch points, entailing numerous safety measures, including contactless shopping and strict social distancing at all times. Now that stores are open, to disinfect jewellery, Tanishq is using UV Type C Chambers, safe for all metals. Q. What has your marketing strategy been during the lockdown? Did you modify your media mix, with marketing investments getting shifted from one medium to another? The core, or sole, of the brand hasn’t changed. What obviously changed was the medium. With the changing market and consumer behaviour, largely our focus has been on enhancing our digital platforms and taking the Omni channel route for marketing. The whole strategy has been about intensifying and recognising cohorts, and to be able to talk to them through digital, through our loyalty programs, through our stores, and build a more virtual relationship with them. Q. The pandemic and the lockdown has brought with it a lot of learning. What would you say have been your major learnings from this experience so far? The current pandemic and journey that we are going through is teaching us to pause, reflect, connect and move forward with resilience and positivity. But times like these urge us to be more agile, adaptable and turn a crisis into opportunities. Being fitter, faster, and stronger will be the key to managing ourselves, our ecosystem of partners &amp; Karigars &amp; more importantly in our service to our customers. Q. The kind of communications a brand comes up with during a crisis can either help win consumer trust and endear them to the brand or work completely the other way around. How did you ensure during the last months that you stay connected with your consumers? All throughout the lockdown, we were in constant touch with our consumers to check on their well-being through empathy calls and help was mobilized with delivery of essentials and medicines to our elderly customers wherever needed! Empathy was the need of the hour and Tanishq jumped headlong into this battle with the intention of helping out wherever and however India and our extended Tanishq family needed help. A significant part of the consumer journey in jewellery has been digitised like – Video calling, Virtual try on, Live chat on our website and book an appointment. These improved our assortment on lower and middle karatage products available on the website as per consumer demand and left no stone unturned to aid our consumers make their purchases online. Q. We are sure the future of retail and jewellery industry will never be the same. How are you making sure you opt to digital media, online selling policies and physical distancing need to help your consumer? I don’t think the future looks very bleak. Shopping trends and consumer shopping trends point towards an optimistic growth pattern and it’s a positive growth. We have developed our plan based on the vision of “Fitter Faster Stronger”. Fitter means being agile and adapting to the new normal with flexibility. Faster means the speed of execution to adapt to rapidly changing consumer preferences &amp; behaviours. And stronger means to come together to reach out and help each other to build back the value chain for the jewellery industry. Digital media is one of our core platforms for consumer engagement and we have built a virtual relationship with the Tanishq community. Engagement campaigns like real golden moments, Mother's day and Jewellery cleaning posts in the last 2 months were highly engaging and gave us higher than targeted engagement percentages. Tech features like live chats and remote selling through video calls are working well for us. Our store attendants showcase the jewellery by wearing it so customers are sure of how it looks before buying it. Physical distancing has also been enabled at stores where we’ve changed layouts so not more than 1-2 customers are inside the store shopping at any given point. Safety will be key for consumers and as India’s leading only national jeweller we have created safe, tech-supported, and digitized dynamic innovative ways of shopping.

90% of Tanishq stores are now open: Ranjani Krishnaswamy, Titan Company

Mumbai, Apr 21 () The coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown ahead of Akshaya Tritiya is a credit negative for the gold jewellery retail industry in the short term, according to Icra. Gold jewellery buying is considered auspicious during Akshaya Tritiya, which falls in the last week of April this year. Over the last two years, the domestic gold jewellery retail industry has been affected by factors like weak consumer demand amid slowing economic growth, rapid rise in gold prices and faltering rural output, regulatory policy interventions and cautious lending environment, Icra said in a report."Given this background, the widened outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown, ahead of the critical Akshaya Tritiya season is a credit negative for the gold jewellery retail industry in the short-term," it added.The lockdown has resulted in closure of retail stores across the country. Besides there has been supply chain disruption with restriction on movement of non-essential goods, Icra added."As the stores are currently non-operational and recovery in demand is likely to be slow and gradual given that jewellery is a non-essential product and consumers typically defer their discretionary spends, jewellery retailers shall witness sharp moderation in footfalls over the next few months. Especially, sales during Akshaya Tritiya, which falls in the last week of April 2020, shall witness considerable impact," Icra Vice President K Srikumar said.In addition to industry revenues being impacted, relatively stable fixed costs in the form of employee payouts and rentals shall affect the earning profile of the retailers, he pointed out."Any invocation of force majeure clauses given the above adverse impact in the rental agreements remains to be seen. Nevertheless, over the long term, gold jewellery demand shall continue to benefit from the cultural underpinnings, evolving lifestyle, growing disposable income, favourable demographic dividend and the growing penetration of organised sector," he added. SM SHW ANUANU

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