PATNA: After Navratri and ‘Karva Chauth’, markets are gearing up for another round of festive sales during the upcoming Dhanteras and Diwali celebrations.
Traders are eagerly waiting for a surge in gold and car sales during this festive season. Umesh Tekriwal, owner of a branded jewellery shop at Fraser road said, “The weddings scheduled for April, May and June were postponed to November, December and January due to Covid-19 pandemic. This led to a plunge in the demand for gold, but it is gradually surging with the onset of festive season.”
Tekriwal added, “The price of gold has increased to Rs 50,000 per 10gm. This has led to increase in sales as customers want to avoid further price rise in the festive and wedding season. We have plenty of bookings already for Dhanteras as customers wish to avoid the crowd on that particular day.”
Automobile dealers also said that they are already registering high sales. “Compared to last year, the sale of cars has increased significantly this year. We see it as the after-effect of Covid- induced lockdown, wherein people are ignoring public transport and giving importance to personal vehicle,” said Kumar Nitesh, marketing manager at a city-based automobile showroom.
He added: “The pandemic in a way has boosted the demand for cars, especially during this festive season. We already have bookings for Dhanteras as customers tend to wait for this festival every year to buy car.”
Consumers are also enthusiastic about making the purchase on time. Raman Das (36), an engineer said, “We have booked a car for Dhanteras as we do not want to get into the rush of the festival.
The pandemic has made me realize the need for a personal vehicle. Hence, we will purchase our own car to avoid public transport.”
Some people are also buying gold for investment purpose. “We always wait to buy consumer durable goods during the Dhanteras and Diwali. This pandemic has made us realize the importance of savings. Hence, we have decided to buy gold on the occasion of Dhanteras, as it would be an investment,” homemaker Abhilasha (32) said.