Diwali sales this year touched a record Rs 6.05 Lakh Crore — comprising Rs 5.40 Lakh crore in goods and Rs 65,000 crore in services — buoyed by the recent revision in GST rates and strong consumer sentiment. Last year, the Diwali sales stood at Rs 4.25 lakh crore.
“Sector wise percentage of sales of prominent festive items included grocery and FMCG 12 per cent, gold and jewellery 10 per cent, electronics and electricals items 8 per cent, consumer durables 7 per cent, ready-made garments 7 per cent, gift items 7 per cent, home décor 5 per cent, furnishing and furniture 5 per cent, sweets and namkeen 5 per cent, textiles and fabrics 4 per cent, pooja articles 3 per cent, fruits and dry fruits 3 per cent, among others,” said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and BJP MP from Chandni Chowk. He claimed that the Diwali’s sales data is based its findings on a nation-wide survey across 60 major distribution centres including State capitals and Tier 2 and 3 cities conducted by its research wing.
Khandelwal said services sector added Rs 65,000 crore to the sales from sectors such as packaging, hospitality, cab services, travel, event management, tent and decoration, manpower, and delivery. The BJP MP said that mainline retail — particularly non-corporate and traditional markets — contributed 85 per cent to the total trade, underscoring a powerful comeback of India’s physical markets and small traders.