Banking on wedding season sales

Retail industry watchers think that the forthcoming marriage season will witness higher two-wheeler offtakes compared to the April-March wedding season. Amit Vijay M examines the possibilities.

- Amit Vijay M

While the marginal recovery of two-wheeler sales may have brought back the smile W two-wheelers, especially in the commuter segment, continues to remain grim. Rising inflation, fuel prices being relatively higher and overall consumption getting hit at the bottom of the pyramid has kept a large chunk of the overall market away.

Moving forward, discounts and incentive schemes from dealerships,besides stock clearance, will continue to keep the consumer interested closer to the end of the year. The wedding season is expected to help carry forward the demand for two-wheelers.

The government taking forward digitisation of the Vehicle identification numbers (VIN), tied to the chassis of the vehicle is likely to keep customers away from the dealerships with purchases getting postponed to the months of Jan-Feb 2023.

"This however will not impact the wedding season gift category of buyers for whom even a saving of three to five thousand matters when you are looking at a Rs three to five lakh wedding cost in the rural areas." opined industry veteran Nikunj Sanghi, former Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) President and CEO of JS4 wheels, Alawar.

"Such buyers are happy to lap up the discounts being offered from now till mid-December without worrying about the date change for commuter bikes. The premium adventure bikes will also have the consumer's fancy in Tier Two markets where a premium branded bike model in the wedding mandap amps up the celebratory spirit," says Sanghi.