Jewellers try home delivery options in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: With Covid-19 restrictions forcing people to rein in the urge to splurge on lavish weddings, jewellers have their fingers crossed that the savings in wedding budgets will translate into higher wedding jewellery purchases this festive season.

Sachin Jain, managing director, DeBeers India, said pre-Covid a chunk of the wedding budget used to get divided into parties, honeymoon and destination weddings but with travel coming to a grinding halt the focus is back on jewellery purchases.

“We expect to do at least 80-90% of last year’s festive season sales by December this year,” he said. “Footfalls at stores are low as customers are opting for online purchases and home deliveries. Our online sales are up to 25%,” Dinesh Jain, MD, PMJ Jewels, said. Agreeing, Darshan Mehta, partner, Mangatrai Jewellers, said, “Since Navratri began, Dhanteras bookings have gone up, with nearly 40% coming through virtual mode. Many prefer to select designs on video calls. We expect 60-70% of last year’s festive sales by Diwali.”

Avinash Gupta, former head, FICCI Telangana’s gems & jewellery committee said, footfalls could have been much higher during Navratri had it not been for floods playing dampener. “Though gold rates are up 30-40% as compared to last year’s festive season, people are booking not just jewellery but also 24K gold coins and bars for Dhanteras as they expect prices to go up,” said PK Siraj, regional manager, Malabar Gold & Diamonds.

Courtesy: TOI