The Indian wedding to be ₹4.25-trillion fat in first phase

THE INDIAN WEDDING is a business that just gets bigger every season, attracting both domestic and global brands, be it hospitality, lifestyle, food or travel. This year, the jump is ₹50,000 crore, from ₹3.75 trillion last year to an expected ₹4.25 trillion this year between November and December alone, as per figures provided by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The body expects over ₹3.5 million weddings to be solemnised from November 23 to December 15 in the first phase of the upcoming wedding season.

- VAISHALI DAR

The business will come from purchases and various services in the wedding market, as per a survey conducted by the research arm of CAIT with traders and service providers of 20 different cities across the country. Last year, around ₹3.2 million weddings took place during the same period, generating business of about ₹3.75 trillion.

"More than 350,000 weddings are expected to take place this season in Delhi alone, which is likely to generate a business of about 1 trillion in the national capital itself," says CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.

The auspicious wedding dates in November are 23-24 and 27-29, and 3-4, 7-9 and 15 in December. The next phase of the wedding season will start from mid-January and will continue till July next year. The industry will also see an unprecedented demand for hotel bookings, ethnic wear, wedding planners and jewellery sales that will set the cash registers ringing.

This year, the preparation for the wedding season is coinciding with the festive celebrations so retailers anticipate a high demand for Indian ethnic wear and accessories categories.