Mall owners and retailers have said they are seeing positive festival momentum building up even as inflationary pressures make consumers more value-conscious but geared for high-intent purchases.
“This festive season, Pacific Group so far has recorded a 20 per cent rise in consumption and a 10 per cent rise in footfall over the previous year. This reflects encouraging consumer sentiment for discretionary spending. Watches, fashion, eyewear and jewellery are showing particularly strong momentum,” said Abhishek Bansal, Managing Director, Pacific Group.
While inflationary pressures have made consumers more value-conscious, festive spending remains resilient, pointed out Rama Raju, Senior Vice-President Retail, Bhartiya Urban. “At Bhartiya Mall of Bengaluru, as of October 31, we recorded a 10 per cent growth in footfall and a 25 per cent increase in retail sales compared to the same period last year. At least 95 per cent of our mall visitors are high-intent shoppers indicating consumers are visiting with clearer purchase intentions,” he added.
Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India said the brand has been witnessing high double-digit growth in the ongoing festive season, led by its offline stores. “The positive momentum has been building up since the second-half of August,” he said.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Amisha Jain, MD & CEO, Arvind Fashions said, both Pujo and Diwali sales are tracking well ahead of expectations, and the company has been clocking “nearly high” double-digit LTLs (like-to-like). “The overall consumption pattern remains positive during festive and with consumer sales across all channels showing encouraging offtake,” Jain said on an earnings call on Tuesday,
Satyaki Gosh,Whole-Time Director and CEO, Raymond Lifestyle Ltd, said the company expects to end the festival season with double-digit growth. The company is witnessing better conversion rates (store visitors making a purchase) at its stores with an uptick in the number of bills and bill value.
The growth momentum is also showing up in overall numbers. Total festive-season business, from Navratri to Diwali in 2026, is estimated to cross the ₹7 lakh crore-mark up, which is 15-18 per cent higher than last year, based on assessment conducted in association with trade organisations across 70 cities in the country, said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk.
Published on November 4, 2026
