The auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya has begun on a strong note as jewellers are witnessing good footfall. Tuesday being a public holiday, consumers are flocking to the stores early before the temperature soars.
"Jewellers across the country have opened their stores early across the country and there is a strong momentum in footfalls since morning. There has been positive sentiment in the market since the last 10-15 days and we expect it to continue on the day of Akshaya Tritiya. We expect to do 25-30 tonne business on this auspicious day," All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council Vice Chairman Shyam Mehra told PTI.
Asked if the high prices will become a hurdle on sales on this Akshaya Tritiya, he said, gold prices have come down to approximately ₹50,500 per 10 gram from ₹55,000-58,000 per 10 gram, boosting consumer sentiment.
"It usually takes around 10-15 days for people to accept price movement. And since the prices have come down, there is generally a positive sentiment in the market, which is expecting gold prices to rise going forward. This will also help boost sales," he added.
Echoing similar views, PNG Jewellers managing director and CEO Saurabh Gadgil said footfalls are strong and are expected to grow as the day progresses for the next 1-2 hours.
"We are expecting a good number of people before it becomes too hot in the afternoon. This will again pick up in the evening as the temperature cools down. Being a bank holiday, footfalls are not restricted to office hours and people are coming to the stores at their ease," he added.
Kalyan Jewellers Executive Director Ramesh Kalyanaraman said gold-buying as a tradition has been an integral part of Akshaya Tritiya and this coupled with the ongoing wedding season, has created a positive market sentiment.
"Though earlier Akshaya Tritiya was more of a South- and East-centric occasion, we are now seeing it being celebrated at a pan-India level. After two years of lockdown or partial lockdown, this year 100% of our showrooms are operational. Offline purchases still account for a significant majority of sales for the jewellery industry, and we are expecting robust customer footfalls across our showrooms," he added.
This Akshaya Tritiya will be fruitful for the industry, setting new milestones with respect to demand for gold jewellery, he added.
CaratLane COO and co-founder Avnish Anand said with the consumer sentiment improving with each passing day, the purchasing capacity of the Indian market has increased this year due to the pent-up demand for the season.
CaratLane is definitely expecting a significant growth in terms of traffic, footfalls and conversions this Akshaya Tritiya owing to not just the pent-up demand but also due to its digital-first omni channel strategy, which increases the efficiency of the consumers both online and offline, he said.
"Additionally, the traffic is expected to grow by 11% and average selling price (ASP) has grown by 23% since February 2022, which was another good season for us,” he added.
