By Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

Copyright thehindubusinessline

It was a slow start at popular markets and large showrooms on the first day of the Navratri and the GST rate cut rollout but brands and retailers said they expect pent-up demand to play out over the next ten days.

While rain played spoilsport in Mumbai and Hyderabad, the response was similarly tepid in the other large metros including Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi for a variety of reasons – it being the beginning of a busy week day, GST rate cuts not being time-sensitive so consumers have no urgency to rush to the nearest store on the first day as they weigh different offers and discounts across channels, particularly the sales offered by big e-commerce giants, to make their purchases.

Stores in some categories such as consumer electronics began seeing early signs of uptick in footfalls but others retailers expected demand momentum to build up in the coming days.

Nilesh Gupta, Director, Vijay Sales, said, “We have begun witnessing some rise in footfalls on Monday. Over the next ten days, we expect to make up for the dip in sales seen in the past 15 days as demand momentum builds up.”

A sales manager in a leading consumer electronics store in Central Delhi said footfalls are up by 15-20 per cent but with more enquiries rather than purchases.

Blue Star Managing Director B Thiagarajan said dealers have forecast double-digit jump in sales in the coming days. Echoing the sentiment, Shibashish Roy, CEO & MD of Croma – Infiniti Retail Ltd said: “The consumer electronics industry is poised for a strong festive season, with the return of significant pent-up demand.”

FMCG companies said they are witnessing an uptick in primary sales as distributors and retailers are stocking up on products after cut-backs in inventories in the past few weeks. Mayank Shah, Vice-President, Parle Products said the primary sales this week will be 25-30 per cent higher than the weekly average.

Anupam Bansal, Managing Director, Liberty Shoes said the GST rate reduction is expected to lead to a shift from unorganised to organised segment in footwear sector. He added the pent-up demand is expected to play out in the coming days and weeks of the festival period.

E-commerce fares better

E-commerce players fared far better than the offline stores and retail markets. Bharath Kumar, Head of Revenue and Growth, Myntra said: “ Myntra Big Fashion Festival has kicked off from September 20th on a strong note this year, with heightened demand for key festive categories. The recent GST reforms have further created excitement among shoppers and Myntra was able to pass on the GST benefits to its customers two days in advance.”

Amazon India launched a dedicated storefront section featuring products with GST savings across categories. Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President – Categories, Amazon India said: “Early data from the Amazon Great Indian Festival that opened exclusively for Prime members shows multi-fold growth across categories. The Amazon Great Indian Festival opens for all customers tonight (23 September) and we expect this momentum to accelerate.”

Mumbai: Heavy rains in Mumbai played spoilsport on the first day of reduced GST rates, and despite it also being the first day of Navratri, most retailers saw slow to normal footfalls. “Footfalls have been slow since the rains, and most people are checking online because Amazon and Instamart have already given out discounts. But we’re hopeful that with Navratri and Diwali coming up, demand at our stores will pick up,” said a representative from Shivraj Supermarket. “Customers are noticing small savings already, but the real impact will take some time I feel. Old stock still has the higher MRP printed, so we are currently adjusting the prices a little. ,” said Bharat Tejani, Owner, Bharat General Store.

Hyderabad: Consumers found that GST rates had not been reduced on all items at the stores in Hyderabad. “The rates are the same (as yesterday). They haven’t been updated. How can you say they haven’t been reduced?” a customer was seen having an argument with a store manager of Ratnadeep retail showroom.

Chennai: There was no major surge in footfalls while retailers expected a pick-up in the coming days. BK Shankar, CEO, consumer electronics retailer Viveks said the company has not observed any major increase in footfalls across stores. Shankar said footfall increases occur when there is a limited time offer, and since the GST rate cuts are not time-sensitive, there is no sense of urgency among customers. He was confident that over the course of the week, more people will come to shop.

Kolkata: Overall, apparel retailers witnessed a dull day. “At our store, we are planning to change the price tag for the items priced below Rs 2500 at the end of the day. System has already been updated. So, we are now providing nearly 7 per cent discount on the old prices. Around 50 per cent of customers, who are coming into our store, are not aware of the price reduction for garments below Rs 2500. We are informing them ,” said a senior sales manager at Style Baazar, located inside Metro Emporium shopping mall, in central Kolkata.

Bengaluru: It was routine business for Devi International, a retailer in Jayanagar, Bengaluru. There were enquiries but not many conversions, said a retailer. A consumer at the store told businessline that they were waiting for prices in Amazon’s Great Indian Festival and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days to compare and understand before making a purchase.

With inputs from Rohan Das and Sindhu Hariharan in Chennai, Jyoti Banthia and Aishwarya Kumar in Bengaluru, K V Kurmanath in Hyderabad, Janaki Krishnan in Mumbai and Mithun Dasgupta in Kolkata

Published on September 22, 2025