Black Friday-to-Cyber Monday sales in India are seeing strong traction this year, with retailers and company executives reporting a 20–25% increase compared with last year. The surge started early, as brands began their promotions a week before Black Friday and plan to keep offers running beyond Cyber Monday. Platforms such as Tata CLiQ, Nykaa, Flipkart, Croma, and Samsung rolled out early deals, indicating that consumer demand remains strong even weeks after the Diwali shopping season.Vijay Sales director Nilesh Gupta said sales have risen 20–25% from last year’s Black Friday period. “However, as a standalone event, Black Friday is yet to become a big one like Republic Day or Independence Day when sales spike two-three times compared to a regular day,” he said, as quoted by ET. “In the case of Black Friday, the spike is around 50% over a regular day. It will take another two-three years for this to become a major sale event.“Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which originated in the US, have grown beyond electronics and beauty in India. Retailers say the week-long event is helping sustain the strong sales momentum seen during Navratri and after this year’s GST cuts.
More planned and premium purchases
Nishank Joshi, chief marketing officer at Nexus Select Malls, said, “What began as a single-day flash sale has now evolved into a full-fledged shopping week for many brands, signalling not just consumer enthusiasm, but the maturing of India’s retail landscape.” He added that the November boost helps when Diwali falls in October.Tanu Prasad, CEO–malls at Oberoi Realty, said shoppers are “seeing far more planned purchases, towards premium products and a rise in family-oriented outings.”Categories such as fashion, accessories, luggage and household goods are also seeing greater uptake. Tanisha Jatia, founder and brand lead at Urban Jungle, said, “We have seen a very real step-change through Black Friday, and we’re tracking at a little over three times our regular week for Urban Jungle,” as quoted by ET.High demand on ecommerce platforms led to temporary stockouts in some categories. “Stocks were an issue with some models getting sold out, but sellers are now fast replenishing stocks after seeing healthy demand,” said Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO at Super Plastronics, the maker of Kodak, Thomson and Blaupunkt TVs. He said large-screen TV sales are up 20% over last year, helped by the GST cut from 28% to 18%.
Retailers extend hours, deals to capture demand
Retailers are using extended store hours and special events to keep customers coming in. Croma held a late-night shopping window offering extra deals across select stores. Bhartiya Mall in Bengaluru said its Black Friday offers cover fashion, beauty, accessories, footwear and even food chains such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell.With Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions now stretched across nearly a week, retailers expect strong sales to continue through the end of the event.
