festivals of Durga Puja and Diwali between September and November. E-commerce majors Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart have already announced deeply discounted sales.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which says its 80 million small-and-medium-business members generate annual sales of more than $1.5 trillion, forecast sales this Diwali season will be at least 30% higher than last year. "Consumer sentiment is very upbeat after two years of restrictions," said CAIT Secretary-General Praveen Khandelwal, who has travelled to many parts of the country this month to urge traders to stock up and ensure they have a variety of products to compete with online players.
He said demand for CAIT members has already come back to more than 90% of pre-COVID levels. Though India's annual retail inflation snapped a three-month downward trend to accelerate to 7% in August, Khandelwal said the trick was to offer customers options that suit their budget, something on which he was holding sessions across the country for businesses he represents.
Ecom Express, which delivers products on behalf of e-commerce firms, said it had doubled its parcel-processing capacity to 6 million units per day and expects volumes to soar up to 65% in the festive season, with much of the growth coming from smaller cities.