Consumer sentiment to remain muted this festive season: Study

Consumer sentiment during the ongoing festive season remains muted and there is unlikely to be a major surge in festival buying this year, says a report.
While around 52 per cent of the 7,659 citizens polled said their spending may be limited to Rs 10,000 during the festive season, 28 per cent said they will not be spending anything, the survey conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles said.
However, the survey noted 19 per cent respondents will be making a reasonable spending of Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000.
"These 19 per cent of the middle class is what the retailers and manufacturers are expecting will give a boost to the buying during the festive season," it added.

The festive season is seen as an auspicious occasion to make large purchases driven by discounts and other benefits.
"Due to the muted sentiment almost 55 per cent of the consumer polled said not only were they not considering any major purchase now, but even for the next 12 months they do not contemplate buying high value items of more than Rs 50,000," the survey said.

The reason for the muted sentiment among consumers could be that people do not expect a substantial rise in their salaries in the coming months, it noted.
While 28 per cent respondents expect salary hike to be between 0-15 per cent, 41 per cent do not expect any salary hike in the coming 12 months.

"The sentiment towards higher spending may have been affected by people who do not see any salary hike," it added.