Festivals and Promotions.... Will this festival Season be different??

For most of us festival season is a season of promotions, other day one my friend who found that I still hadn't bought a TV said " Diwali Season will have many promotions and discounts you can get a good deal, you can get a DVD player free with the TV". For most companies, in the durables, the season starts from September and extends till January. The season is marked by the starting of Onam, Ganesha festival, dusheraa and peaks with Diwali , continuing till Christmas and New year. In a typical household in India festivals are considered to be an auspicious time to make new purchases and this sentiment has been over the years captured by marketers by providing free-bees and offers.

There are many companies and branch managers who save funds from their normal promotional expenses and use the money during the festival season. This rush to capitalize on the season in the past has lead to promotional warfare in the market place, with each company trying to out-do the other with a better scheme or promotion. At the dealer end they have made best use of increased competition and the hurry to achieve sales targets by squeezing more out of companies. The sales peaks which occur during the festival season has had its own impact on the supply chain and the manufacturing.

But this festive season promises to be different, if one were to go by the news items with heading saying 'White goods firms look for festival without freebies', and other reports which talk pessimistically about the chances of auto sales improving in the festive season. The consumer durables companies are claiming that they would move away from discounts and promotions and instead provide customers with more models and upgrades to increase sales. The negative effects of sales promotion is known to many but when everyone in the industry is into the game no can say no .... most of the companies have claimed that would not get into the major promotions this year but the season has just begun and it is to be seen how long can the companies resist from going in for discounts to get short term sales...

Update: The general consensus in the industry is that the festival season sales are not as they used to be, articles like festival season has lost its sales appeal with marketers give good insights. Festival season: Sales boom is passe now,

Festival Shift