Diwali sales this year skyrocketed to touch a record ₹6.05 lakh crore, including ₹5.40 lakh crore in goods and ₹65,000 crore in services, as per data shared by traders’ body, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
The body attributed the rise to the recent GST reforms that made goods cheaper, and a strong consumer sentiment for domestic goods, encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to adopt ‘swadeshi’ products. Last year, Diwali trade figure stood at ₹4.25 trillion (₹4.25 lakh crore) against this year’s ₹5.4 trillion.
CAIT’s findings, which were based on a nation-wide survey in state capitals in Tier II and Tier III cities across 60 major distribution centres, conducted by its research wing, found that 72 per cent of surveyed traders attributed higher sales volumes directly to reduced GST rates on daily-use items, footwear, garments, confectionery, home décor, and consumer durables.
In mainline retail, non-corporate and traditional markets ruled the roost, contributing 85 per cent to the total trade and underscoring a powerful comeback of India’s physical markets and small traders, CAIT stated.
Rural and semi-urban India accounted for 28 per cent of the total trade, reflecting deeper economic participation beyond metros. Consumers too expressed greater satisfaction with stable pricing, which encouraged sustained festive spending.
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CAIT National President, B C Bhartia, said services sector added ₹65,000 crore to the sales from sectors such as packaging, hospitality, cab services, travel, event management, tent and decoration, manpower, and delivery.
The sales also created 50 lakh temporary jobs in logistics, packaging, transport, and retail services, the report added.
Sector-wise, percentage of sales of prominent festive items included Grocery & FMCG (12 per cent), Gold & Jewellery (10 per cent), Electronics & 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 & Furniture (5 per cent), Sweets & Namkeen (5 per cent), Textiles & Fabrics (4 per cent), Pooja Articles (3 per cent), Fruits & Dry Fruits (3 per cent), among others.
The traders’ body report noted that this festive surge is expected to continue through the winter, wedding, and upcoming festive season from mid-January.
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