Customers may see lower discounts, fewer end-of-season stocks on sale

Sale days are also likely to be reduced as retailers emerge from pandemic to post strong surge in business-as-usual (BAU) sales

This end-of-season sale period, shoppers are likely to find fewer stocks on discounts and lower discounts, while the duration of the sale period is also expected to be lower.

After coming out of the third wave of the pandemic, retailers witnessed strong sales since March as people started to step out and shop after two years of the pandemic pushing for sales of goods at full price. Also, during the pandemic retailers resorted to buying lower stocks as footfalls were impacted due to the spread of the virus.  

Retailers said that more stock is moving off their shelves at full price due to which they are offering lower discounts and shorter sales period. 

However, retailers are in wait-and-watch mode to see if this will cause the overall sales to move up for the year as they are still in the first quarter. Lifestyle and apparel retailers typically see 40-45 per cent of their sales from the spring-summer collection which starts from mid-February- March and then goes on till July-August. Festive sales (which begins with Onam and goes on till Diwali) which is typically a part of autumn-winter sales accounts for 40 per cent of retailers sales.   

The pandemic has taught retailers to become more agile and they have brought in the concept of just-in-time inventory where they work closely with manufacturers and raw material is converted into apparel only when demand emerges," Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO at Retailers Association of India said. He explained that cloth is typically with the manufacturer and is converted into garments only when demand emerges. Also brands have also put better supply chains in place and have warehouses in central locations.  

“We have cut down our sales season this time by two weeks. It will only be for 5-6 weeks compared to the usual 7-8 weeks, as full price sell-throughs are higher than pre-pandemic,” Manish Kapoor, CEO at Pepe Jeans India told Business Standard. He added the inventory going up on sale this will be 30-35 per cent lower than the inventory offered on discount normally. Also, the denim brand, which starts its sales period on June 23, will be sold at a maximum of discount of 50 per cent. “Compared to the pre-pandemic period, we have seen sales up by 26 per cent and expect double-digit sales to continue even during the sales period,” Kapoor said.

Retail chain Lifestyle will also begin its sales on June 23 and expects a good season as it has seen strong sales since March, with 10-11 per cent like-to-like sales growth. However, It will only have a month of end-of-season sales, and will not increase discounts, capping them at 50 per cent.

“Many retailers resorted to curtailed trading during the pandemic and the need for fashion products is increasing as outdoor activities have picked up due to which inventories are a little tight,” Devarajan Iyer, CEO, Lifestyle said. He added that he expects strong sales during the end-of-season period and may extend the period only if stocks last.

Major Brands, which has brands such as Aldo, Charles & Keith and Bath & Body Works, will run its sale for 3-4 week and its discount structure is different across its brands. On an average its discounts would be up to 40 per cent, Tushar Ved, president at Major Brands said. The retailer has already begun to sell its goods at a discount on the weekend.

V-Mart retail will also reduce the number of sale days by 15 days, Lalit Agarwal, founder and MD of V-Mart retail said. The brand began its sale season in the south on June 10 and will begin its sale season in north India on June 23.

While retailers expect a rush at stores offline, the rush was already seen online. E-commerce fashion portal Myntra also seen strong movement during its End-Of-Reason Sale.  

Walmart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra sold about 21 million products to 5 million shoppers across the country during the 16th edition of its biannual flagship event.

“In our endeavour to democratise fashion using technology, this edition of (EORS) has been able to delight and serve 5 million people, the highest ever to shop during EORS thus far,” said Nandita Sinha, CEO, Myntra. “Myntra Live’s debut at scale with this EORS was a major pull for brands and shoppers.”

EORS 16 also helped in augmenting the income of 21,000 Kirana partners by about 1.4 times over their BAU (business as usual) earnings. Myntra also created 27,500 third-party employment opportunities through its partners to cater to the EORS demand. Myntra said 8 million items were already delivered to customers before the end of the event.

Beauty and personal care registered a 5X growth in demand over BAU during EORS 16, further strengthening Myntra’s position in this category.

Myntra said it observed high traction among shoppers for the event at a time when most places of work and education have resumed operations from physical facilities. Along with customers buying 50 lakh products in the first 24 hours, Myntra also recorded 50 per cent of new customers coming in from tier-2 and 3 cities and towns during the event.

Sale period reduced to 5-6 weeks from 7-8 weeks 

Lower inventories on discount as consumer sentiment picks up and sales up by double-digit 

Discounts to be lower this sale season 

Myntra saw 21 million products purchased by 5 million shoppers during its End of Reason sale