By Aroosa Ahmed Janaki Krishnan

Copyright thehindubusinessline

In a bid to increase sales, as customers wait for goods to get cheaper from next Monday, some retailers are now offering discounts of up to 10 per cent on consumer durable products before the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on September 22.

Large retail formats such as Croma, Reliance Digital, Lotus Electronics are offering low double-digit discounts and freebies with white goods products to clear the current inventory. Their online platforms are offering discounts of up to 70 per cent on durables and electronics. Early booking and exchange offers are other incentives being offered by the retailers.

“We are offering discounts of 10 per cent to clear out the current inventory. However, the sales are slow and consumers are waiting for the implementation. We are witnessing that the overall demand is low, and consumers are booking but are waiting for the reduced GST prices. As the GST is implemented, we expect an overall increase of upto 25 per cent this festive season,” said Gaurav Pahwa, Director, Lotus Electronics

Furthermore, businesses selling a limited supply of televisions and air conditioners are offering discounts of up to 5 per cent in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

“We are in touch with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that will provide us with stickers, boxes at reduced prices before September 22. However, currently we are offering a discount of 5 per cent on our range of air-conditioners across brands,” said a seller from Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, major retailers have stated that there has been a decline in sales this entire festive season uptill now, and the price reductions are only going to bring in positive growth.

“Consumers are waiting for the new GST rates to kick in; there would be no loss in the present inventory. The overall sales have slowed down by 20 per cent,” said Nilesh Gupta, Director, Vijay Sales, to businessline.

Store checks with Trent and Reliance Retail’s various retail formats showed fewer footfalls and store managers admitting to lower sales in the runup to GST implementation, though they declined to specify numbers.

Trent and Reliance Retail did not respond to emails sent to them for clarification.

Original Equipment Manufacturers

While OEMs have mentioned a slowdown in demand as the festive season started, companies are continuing to launch new products, anticipating an increase in sales. THOMSON launched 50 and 55-inch new televisions powered by Jiotele OS QLED, and is anticipating a growth of 15 per cent during the festive season with the products.

“Consumers have refrained from buying as they are waiting for GST cut and new offers. This Onam, we saw a 30 to 35 per cent growth driven by large-sized televisions. We will pass on the benefit of GST cuts entirely to consumers, and we expect higher demand to offset the impact on existing stocks while they start stocking up on fresh stocks after September 22. Unlike air-conditioners, the retailers selling televisions are not high on inventory as they did not stock up much for the current lean period on account of Shradh,” said Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO SPPL, Exclusive Brand Licensee of THOMSON in India

Published on September 17, 2025