Consumers to spend less this festive season: Survey

Chennai: It could be bad news for brands that are waiting for the consumers to loosen their purse strings during the festive season. Most consumers have been holding back their discretion-ary spending in August-September and even during the festive season a majority of them may not spend more than Rs 10,000 per household, finds a survey.

A survey conducted by LocalCircles, an online citizen engagement platform, among consumers in tier- I, II and III cities found that 43 per cent of them will be spending only up to Rs 10,000 per household on just festive basics in the next 60 days. Another 17 per cent will not spending anything and 5 per cent were indecisive.

Only 31 per cent of the consumers are willing to spend between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 per household and those spending above Rs 50,000 account for just four per cent.  

Brands need not expect much from these four per cent respondents who are willing to spend more than Rs 50,000 per household during festive season. Among them, 29 per cent will spend on home renovation, while 18 per cent will spend on white goods and 12 per cent each on automobiles and gadgets. Only 6 per cent will buy jewellery and even lesser 3 per cent will spend on property.

Among the total respondents, 46 per cent were either spending less or were not spending in the last 45 days on discretionary purchases. “One-third of the consumers have cut their discretionary spending and 14 per cent are not spending at all to hold on to the cash in case things continue to worsen. This is evident in the numbers reported by auto, FMCG and various other sectors,” finds LocalCircles. While 41 per cent respondents have been spending same as before, only 11 per cent were spending higher.