- Abhay Saxena
Rahul and Sakshi are happy. After all, they have got their 2BHK flat painted just in nick of time, when others got free long back in their preparations for Diwali. The personal loan of Rs. 50000 that Citibank extended to Sakshi proved to be quite handy for them in this paint work. Next on their agenda is a fully automatic washing machine that they plan to buy on Dhan Teras. Neeraj is exalted as his dad has promised him a 2-wheeler this Diwali. The dad rests assured to fulfill this promise as he only has to manage the down payment of Rs. 10000. Rest amount shall be payable in easy installments. Nisha’s all wedding jewelry has been purchased through 4 credit cards that she holds, without giving any botheration to her middle income group parents. And Vinod shall celebrate this Diwali in Malaysia as he has already bought a travel package.
Since past few years, the whole nation seems to be in a spending spree throughout the year that peaks around Diwali. Markets are flooded with products with myriad offers attached. Despite a general trend in price hike year after year, the quantum of shopping shows a perpetual rise. People’s shop list for Diwali is getting longer with each passing year. They seem to have overcome the hitch to spend, that their progenitors had. And all this, despite inflation rates souring and commodities becoming dearer.
Is this a reflection of prosperity among the public that our policy makers claim to have achieved? Or is it just a paradigm shift in people that has induced a larger change in their lifestyles? Even if it is a paradigm change, how has it been sustainable for so long now? Diwali has always been a glittering affair in every Indian’s calendar year. Since ages, it has been celebrated as a festival of wealth and prosperity. It was considered auspicious to buy something of utility on Dhan Teras and Diwali, although this spending largely remained limited to affluent urban class. Things changed with changes in national economy and social orders. More and more people began to afford more and more things as times rolled by. Since past few years, one doesn’t need to possess riches to make multiple purchases. You just need to have certain credentials and a promise to repay, and the creditors shall run after you to take their finances. People are now spending lavishly on the objects of their desires. Clothes, appliances, gadgets, mobile phones, computers, vehicles, jewelry, and exotic food items – the list is long.
It is said that disposable money with people has increase manifold in last few years. But so have the credit allurements from banks, companies and market intermediaries. Moreover, surge in productions has led to stuffed factories which in turn have led to stuffed marketplaces. It became imperative to pull out the consumers from their homes to explore and eventually send them back buying something they might or might not need. And what better occasion would there be to make sales in roaring quantum than Diwali festival, when people go shopaholics? The festive season of people has become the sales season for the companies.
From people’s point of view that has changed tremendously, it is wise to own and utilize the products and services that are easily available, now, then to wait for a later time. Buy now and pay later has worked well for almost all industries. Buying a car today with a bank’s loan and repaying it in installments is much wiser than saving for years and then buy that coveted car. From companies’ point of view, it is wise to keep the stock rolling even if a customer pays in part and over a term. After all, income from interest is also an income.
Another change that economy has witnessed is the changing shape of markets. What was once a physical space is now on your desk and in your pocket, in form of online. Today, you have platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc, to peep into thousands of products and make purchases with multiple payment modes. Today, you have almost equal knowledge about the products as the seller sitting with his stuff in the market has. A transparency of some sort prevails between the buyer and the seller. Moreover, the deals these virtual markets offer are hard to resist by the modern age consumer who prefers to live in present. Here again, Diwali has presented the best opportunity for these e-commerce companies to woo the upward mobile customer with plethora of options.
One cannot tell about the future, but as of now, this trend shall continue for quite some time. Diwali shall remain the most opportune time for sellers to sell and most auspicious time for buyers to buy. So what’s keeping you aback? Just make a wish list this Diwali and go fulfilling it, albeit with caution and wisdom. It is a promise that whatever your heart desires for life is already out there in market with an offer attached. As Aamir Khan has already announced, while endorsing Snapdeal, “Yeh Diwali…. Dil ki deal wali…”
– Graphics: Rishika/ChaT
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