\u201cThe response from customers has been phenomenal\u2014something we haven\u2019t seen in the last 35 years,\u201d said Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki<\/a>, India\u2019s largest carmaker. \u201cOn the very first day (September 22), we recorded 80,000 enquiries, and have already delivered over 25,000 cars, with deliveries expected to touch 30,000 shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n
While automakers and large electronics chains saw early signs of demand, it was business as usual for most fashion and grocery retailers. Companies said there could be a broader pickup in spending ahead.<\/p>\n
The start of Navratri, amplified by the momentum from GST 2.0 reforms, has infused strong positivity into the market, said Tarun Garg, whole-time director and COO, Hyundai Motor India. \u201cOn Day 1 alone, HMIL recorded around 11,000 dealer billings, which is our highest single-day performance in the last five years,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a clear testament to robust festive sentiment and customer confidence\u2026 Looking ahead, we anticipate sustained festive demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Electronic stores posted their usual sales numbers, although enquiries went up. Most stores had beefed up sales staff in sections such as televisions and air-conditioners\u2014GST on them is down to 18% from 28%\u2014expecting increased footfall. Stores were also festooned with GST price cut promotional material.<\/p>\n Kamal Nandi, head of the appliance business at Godrej Enterprises, said people are expected to visit shops in the evening and on weekends, even in the smaller towns. \u201cIn fact, we expect this weekend to be a big one as it is just before Dussehra,\u201d he said. That\u2019s also the expectation at the Tata-owned Croma consumer electronics stores. \u201cWe are expecting footfall to go up significantly in the coming days,\u201d said a store manager. He said the store is targeting a sales increase of more than 20% over last year\u2019s festival season.<\/p>\n While brands are betting on the timing\u2014the festive season traditionally sees a sales bump\u2014fashion and grocery chains including DMart, Pantaloon, and Reliance Smart Bazar were focused on updating systems and pricing throughout the day to account for the new GST rates.<\/p>\n V-Mart, which largely operates in small towns, said the full impact of the GST cut would become clearer as the festive season gets underway. \u201cThe objective is to drive consumption,\u201d said V-Mart chairman Lalit Agarwal. \u201cWe are seeing early movement in some categories, but the real test will come in the weeks ahead as people save on high-ticket items.”<\/p>\n Price tags Staff at several locations said revised price lists continued to arrive late into the afternoon. Consumer awareness of the tax changes also appeared limited.<\/p>\n \u201cI assumed there was a festive offer,\u201d said Chandrima Sen, a shopper at Reliance Trends in Kolkata. \u201cI didn\u2019t know this was due to GST cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n Manoj Arora, owner of Samrat grocery store in Gurgaon, said it\u2019s selling old stock at new GST rates based on updated price lists, but doesn\u2019t expect higher demand as essentials are need-based and compensation from companies will take months, impacting working capital.<\/p>\n However, several kirana stores in east Delhi markets said they are selling at the price printed on the packet. \u201cI am selling at MRP (maximum retail price) that is printed on the packet of each SKU (stock keeping unit),\u201d said a kirana store owner in Mayur Vihar Phase 1, reflecting a common trend among small traders who said they had not received revised price lists from suppliers yet.<\/p>\n Dairy brands reported a smooth transition. \u201cWe had been preparing for the past two weeks,\u201d said Manish Bandlish, managing director of Mother Dairy<\/a>. Amul managing director Jayen Mehta said increased sales were driven by seasonal demand due to Navratri, as milk, curd, and buttermilk were not impacted by GST changes.<\/p>\n In fashion retail, implementation was slower. Zudio outlets in Bengaluru had only partially updated pricing. Shoppers Stop put up banners to absorb additional costs on private-label garments priced above Rs2,500, but other fashion brands from Mango to Calvin Klein had higher tags than the day before.<\/p>\n In Chennai\u2019s bustling Pondy Bazaar, Planet Fashion<\/a>, which sells the Peter England and Van Heusen brands, marked select apparel with green dot stickers to indicate GST rate cuts, drawing Navratri shoppers looking for festive deals. While larger footwear chains such as Mochi<\/a> and Bata passed on GST benefits on old stock, smaller stores held firm on pre-revision pricing.<\/p>\n Smaller players like Dharani Footwear have taken a call to finish selling their old stocks at the pre-revision rate and only the new stocks at the revised GST rate. \u201cWe have already paid the GST on those items so how can we sell them at the new prices,” said a salesman at the store. \u201cWe even had a customer come in the morning asking for a particular orthopaedic footwear brand for which the price has come down but we told her we cannot give her the GST benefit till we finish old stocks. We might lose some customers but these are the only products that we earn some margins from so we have no choice.”<\/p>\n![\"ET](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756605010_427_118783427.cms.png\")
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Specific segments gain Flipkart and Amazon kicked off their festive sale events on Monday for loyalty programme users, with sellers and brands reporting strong early traction boosted by the GST cut. Fashion brand The Pant Project<\/a> saw a 15-20% jump over last year, while Shadow Etail, a seller on both marketplaces, saw traffic in the home essentials segment surge 151% from last week.
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\u201cThe revision is very favourable for mass fashion, which now attracts only 5% GST and is seeing strong demand. But premium and occasion wear have moved from 12% to 18%, which is weighing on sentiment in that segment,\u201d said Sidhant Keshwani, founder and chief executive of apparel brand Libas<\/a>. The GST revamp involves the scrapping of the 12% and 28% slabs, retaining the 5% and 18% levies. Demerit goods attract 40% GST. Most items of daily use are now at the lowest slab or at zero GST.Autos accelerate GST has been cut to 18% from 28% plus cess on sub-4-metre cars.
\u201cDemand for small cars has been especially strong, with bookings growing by nearly 50%,\u201d Maruti\u2019s Banerjee said. \u201cEnquiries remain very high, and we may even run out of stock for certain variants.\u201d<\/p>\n