High Prices, Softer Payments: The Festive Playbook
Rising costs have made festive price cuts rare. Brands are using EMIs, exchanges and value packs to protect margins while keeping buyers moving.
India’s festive season is arriving with a twist: prices are not coming down, but retailers are working harder to make them feel manageable.
The discount lever is losing its pull
Videotex director Arjun Bajaj told The Times of India that packaging boxes and power cords have become 30-40% costlier in the last six months. Entry-level 32-inch televisions are likely to feel the sharpest impact. With input costs like that, a traditional across-the-board markdown is hard to sustain.
Yet demand hasn’t disappeared. The expectation is that festive volumes may stay subdued while higher unit prices lift overall purchase value. That puts brands in a delicate spot: how do you keep a customer moving without cutting the sticker price?
Lowering the pain, not the price
One answer is to attack the pain of paying. No-cost EMIs and staggered payment plans shrink a large lump-sum outlay into a series of smaller mental transactions. The product keeps its reference price; the buyer feels the monthly outflow is manageable. It is a pricing psychology classic: brands exchange margin for friction, rather than margin for discount.
Stashfin founder Tushar Aggarwal estimates financing could power 60-80% of transactions in categories like consumer electronics, durables and fashion this year. LG Electronics and Panasonic are pairing zero-interest EMIs with longer tenures, extended warranties and cashbacks to keep premium lines within reach.
The affordability toolkit widens
- CaratLane is filling its assortment across price bands rather than using discounts as the main lever.
- Malabar Gold & Diamonds says old-gold exchanges recently contributed 70% of sales, turning existing assets into purchasing power.
- BlueStone is changing product designs and price points to preserve choice as gold prices climb.
- Liberty Shoes is focusing below Rs 2,500, where GST is 5%, and improving design and comfort instead of pushing price up.
- Flipkart is building value-led exclusive packs with brands.
What this means for marketers
When a sticker price cannot fall, change the mental math around it. Payment structures, exchange values and accessible entry points can protect the reference price while making the purchase feel affordable. The risk is noise: if every brand shouts “no-cost EMI”, the tactic loses differentiation. The brands that win will make affordability credible and easy to compare.
Source: ETRetail.com
