72% of Indians plan to splurge on electronics and gadgets during the festive season: Report

• This survey by ZestMoney reveals insights on consumer spending and saving habits.
• 78% of respondents say they have saved up to spend this year.

According to the pan-India survey conducted by ZestMoney, a Buy Now, Pay Later platform, 78% of the respondents say they have been saving up to splurge in the coming months. Indicating a strong revival in consumer spending habits, 62% of them said they have planned to increase the festive budget compared to last year.

The consumer survey was conducted to understand consumer shopping habits and preferences for the ongoing festive season. The pan-India survey saw participation from 3,800 respondents, the majority of them being millennials.

Smartphones, electronics, and fashion have emerged as the top categories where people planned to splurge in the coming months. A whopping 72% choose smartphones and consumer electronics as their preferred choice to shop. Home decor, jewelry, automobiles, personal care products are the other popular categories.
The Indian festive season is a crucial time as consumer demand is at its peak with many planning several small and big-ticket purchases. With increased vaccination and the general opening of the economy, the survey has witnessed a positive sentiment around budgets and shopping at physical stores. 75% of the surveyed respondents said they were more comfortable shopping at physical stores than last year. While online shopping continues to be popular among people, 53% said they would shop at both online and offline stores for their needs this year.
Indicating an increase in discretionary spending and budgets, 67% of people say they plan to spend on gifting family and friends.

It is interesting to note that 59% of them revealed that they plan to use Buy Now, Pay Later/EMI options for their shopping needs. UPI, Credit Cards, and cash payments were other popular options. Affordability solutions continue to play a crucial role in these times as people look at ways to plan their finances better.

Commenting on the survey, Lizzie Chapman, CEO & Co-founder of ZestMoney said, “We expect this to be a dhamaka festive season and the signs are already visible. People have started spending and the consumer demand is very upbeat for the next 3 months. We have seen customer applications go up by 10X on our platform and we have had to increase credit limits for select customers as many reach out asking for it. It’s interesting to see the survey suggesting people want to spend more this year compared to last year.”

“One noticeable difference is people are more comfortable shopping at retail stores and the footfalls are promising. We are seeing massive interest from retailers wanting to enable Buy Now, Pay Later at their stores. We will soon have a network of 1 lakh physical stores across the country owing to the festive demand. Overall we expect a 3X YoY growth this festive season with demand across categories from electronics, home appliances, smartphones, and electric bikes”, added Chapman.