Weekend shopping shrinks as consumers shop during weekdays, office hours

With consumers venturing out more during weekdays and office hours, the trend of weekend shopping has shrunk to a third. This change is mainly a result of closure of multiplexes, fear of visiting the malls during weekends and a surge in online shopping, view experts.

According to Devendra Chawla, Managing Director, Spencer’s Retail, shopping which earlier used to be a family activity is now largely done by a single member of the family whereby the weekend skew has come down. Sundays, which earlier generated the highest sales, is now even lower than weekdays, says J Suresh, CEO, Arvind Fashions which sells brands such as Calvin Klein, Gap and US Polo Assn.

Similar shopping trends are seen for products like appliances, laptops and smartphones which are currently in high demand as consumers automate daily chores or to aid work and study from home. Ritesh Ghosal, Chief Marketing Officer, Croma adds, sales, which used to be the highest during the pre-COVID period, has now spread more evenly over the entire day.

Consumers are now coming even during the lean hours like early morning or afternoon to avoid crowds, queues outside stores and since there is night curfew in several places.

Neville Noronha, Managing Director, Avenue Supermarts that runs DMart recommends extending shopping hours on week days for essential retailers. This will help them to manage social distancing significantly better, he said.