Diwali: When consumption reigns!

Author: Countries and Consumers

Date published: 20 Oct 2009

"If you think that Xmas is commercialised, then you should see Diwali. It's far more commercialised in terms of buy, buy, buy. It's unashamed commercialism, with none of the guilt which sometimes comes with buying stuff at Xmas. What happens is that just before Diwali there is a whole month of festivities. Moreover, shops are open throughout the festivities. You could call Diwali the mother of all commercialisations!” So says young London-based business consultant, Vee-jay.

Gift giving is central to Diwali, the festival of light that pays homage to the Goddess Lakshmi, deity of wealth, prosperity and generosity. For millions of Hindus like Vee-jay - in India and in Hindu communities globally - Diwali is a pan-generational buying spree that extends beyond friends and family locally and abroad, to work colleagues and corporate gifting. It also goes beyond the traditional sweet treats and new clothes to take in the latest electronic gadgets and even holiday packages. Many Hindus express their identity through this consumption, sending signals to like-minded consumers via their choice of presents. Meanwhile, the array of FMCG goods on offer is given a special Diwali promotional platform in cyberspace while sellers claim and consumer buyers seem to be voting with their wallets that online Diwali purchasing 'overcomes' the limits of geographical distance. In 2009, wishes for a greener Diwali are louder than ever.

Key trends

Giving is at the heart;

Diwali around the world;

Beyond new clothes and sweet treats;

Online Diwali boost via internet sales and blogs;

A greener Diwali;

The shadow of recession.

Commercial opportunities

Join other brands in launching new products or in announcing attractive schemes and discounts at a time when Hindu shoppers are itching to spend on their families, friends and colleagues;

According to The Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India, the Diwali tradition of exchanging gifts has grown to new heights in recent years. “Great importance is given on the product in this materialistic age” by Hindu consumers, it stresses;

Corporate Diwali gifts are a growth area. Brands are keen to make an impression with quality corporate gifts taking in everything from crockery sets to winter breaks.

Background

Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, lasts five days - this year starting on the 17th of October. This festival is integrally linked to giving and so has a natural affinity with consumption. According to The Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India, this most celebrated Hindu festival is also the “largest gift giving and shopping festival in India. People go out of their way to splurge themselves and their loved ones as it is associated with prosperity.”

What's more, the celebration is actually a protracted period of gift-giving that extends beyond this five-day period. For instance, Dhen Teras, celebrated largely in Northern India and by Indian expats with links to this region, is on the 13th day of the lunar month. Dhan means money/wealth and Tera 13. In essence, this is a day in which, if you buy new things, it is felt that you will get more in the coming year. On this day, more motorbikes are sold than on any other day in Northern India, and there are numerous special offers and loan offers that coincide with it.

Blogger 'author' explains that the lead-up to the Diwali festival involves significant spending on the home as well: “Preparation for the most awaited festival starts days and in fact months beforehand. It is believed that the goddess of wealth does not reside in those houses which are unclean and dirty. Therefore, house cleaning starts much earlier and all the unwanted stuff from the house is thrown away. People go shopping and purchase new items to decorate their homes with.”

Giving is at the heart

Gifting lies at the heart of Diwali. Indeed, The Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India explains how buying assumes spiritual significance: “The basic idea behind the tradition of exchanging Diwali gifts is to accelerate the feeling of love, bonding, affection and appreciation. People convey their respect, good wishes, blessings, love and appreciation for their dear ones through gifts. Since Diwali is a religious festival, sending Diwali gifts also symbolises one's prayers to the almighty for the prosperity and well being of the recipient.”

Particularly interesting is how the modern consumer interest in consumption and new consumption patterns (such as the fascination with portable technology) have been incorporated into Diwali giving so that modern gifting is an expression or 'evidence' of attachment – particularly for family at some distance away.

A clear example of this fusion of consumption and family values is provided by the NewTechnology.co.in website which currently features a photograph of a harmonious nuclear family of four standing around an appealing dish and the caption “This Diwali bring home a better life”.

Smaller FMCG goods such as cosmetics come in special Diwali collections and big ticket items like electronics and even getaway travel breaks come in 'Diwali packaging' while companies give to employees and business connections as part of networking efforts.

In an amusing blog entitled “Diwali shopping with the seniors”, Deepa writes about her family shopping spree in Chennai city, India: “My parents have come to spend Diwali with us this year. My mother, in her usual over the top style, wanted to buy clothes for all of us. This was immediately followed by an almighty row, instigated by yours truly, on this 'conspicuous consumption' and ostentatious expenditure. All for nothing. My mother dug in her heels and refused to budge... Just to confound our mother, we bought her a kajeevaram sari that cost a bomb. "But I don't want such an expensive sari" “We want you to have it. It is our sentiment" Ooooh! It gave me such pleasure to give her dialogue back to her! Since she liked the sari, she gave up protesting after a while. “

As lifestyle role models, celebrities often set the trends including in charitable giving. This year, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has found a new way of bringing a smile to the faces of the underprivileged this Diwali. He has launched 'Being Human' gold and silver coins, the proceeds of which will go to Being Human, his trust for needy people, in association with jewellery house Gitanjali.

Diwali around the world

From the expansive Diwali celebration in Auckland's harbour area to themed evenings at restaurants in Dubai, Hindus abroad and increasingly their compatriots in countries with large Hindu communities such as the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Kenya are enjoying Diwali commemorative activities.

In Dubai, for instance, home to a large Indian community, local restaurants such as the Swaad Restaurant at the Le Meridien Al Aqah, are paying tribute to Diwali during October with mouth-watering sweets reflecting each region of India while the Taste Thai Restaurant is offering Asian healthy hot pots reports DubaiNetwork.com

New Zealand blogger, Sharon Lingham, stresses that local Diwali festival organisers are promising that there will be no signs of an economic downturn at the vibrant Diwali festivals in Auckland and Wellington. Each year thousands of people throng these family friendly events to mark a much loved Indian cultural tradition, she writes. In her view “The events celebrate not only the traditions of Diwali, but Indian culture as a whole. Festival-goers can enjoy vegetarian Indian food available from dozens of mouth-watering food stalls while watching non-stop performances including the popular Bollywood dance competition.” She stresses that the involvement of Gujarati performers from north-western India will resonate with many in New Zealand's Indian communities who hail from this part of the Subcontinent.

LondonNet, meanwhile, reported on a recent Diwali Indian Food Walk. Londoners were invited to join award-winning food writer and TV chef Monisha Bharadwaj on a walk through the West London area of Southall, home to many Hindus, as it prepared for this joyous festival. “Browse through speciality supermarkets and discover unusual ingredients that you can buy”. Participants were invited to sample cuisine, and there was “plenty of Bollywood street music and stuff about films, fashion and culture during the course of the walk!”

Beyond new clothes and sweet treats

According to blogger Kumar, Diwali “Used to be just clothes and sweets, but now has kept up with purchasing habits, just like Xmas. While traditional gifts such as Lakshmi Ganesh coins and decorations are still around, now it is electronics, jewellery, hampers, watches and all sorts.”

At Hivision.com: “India's audio video home theatre and hifi forum”, a discussion is ongoing on the best electronics buys for Diwali with lots of admiration for flat screen TVs including: “P.S. – the TV looks gorgeous even when it's switched off... ?”

Travel firm, Genesis, for instance, offers Diwali winter breaks to destinations such as Goa, with corporate and group rates too.

Online Diwali boost via internet sales and blogs

Online retailers base their appeal on the notion that purchasing gifts for relatives abroad can shrink distances and is the ideal way to show loved ones that you are thinking of them during the Diwali holiday. Numerous websites offer everything from home appliances and kitchenware to home decor items, coins and sweets. For instance, one blogger wrote on the 9th of October “For Diwali send gifts to all your loved ones staying far from you.” Blogger 'author' writes: “With the help of internet services it is easy to send gifts to all your loved ones staying far from you in no time. You can find a myriad of gift items, sweets, gift hampers and lot more, well within your reach.”

The NewTechnology.co.in website alongside its photo of a happy family has a shopping list of Diwali durables including an Acer laptop Diwali offer and an LG mobile Diwali offer.

A greener Diwali

This year, a plethora of articles and blog postings are looking at Diwali from a green perspective, also stressing safety aspects and even daring to be critical of what some regard as a temple to consumption.

An article that is currently appearing on many Diwali blogs is entitled: “Celebrate an environmentally safe Diwali”. It seeks, during the festival of light, a metaphor for knowledge, to sensitise Hindu consumers to green concerns and enlighten them on “the hazards that boisterous celebrations of Diwali pose to our environment.” Polluting firecrackers and the noise pollution caused by them as well as high energy consumption are stressed.

Some clothing brands are promoting the Year of Natural Fibre. Such things as saris made with natural fibre and vegetable dyes have been promoted. For an offbeat option, some companies are suggesting consumers drape themselves in jute (a natural fibre often called hessian).

Many shoppers are considering shopping with an eco-approach, and cash in their wallets (credit cards are plastic!). “We had an eco-festival a few months ago,” says Kaveri Lalchand of Madras Terrace House. “We had talks and screenings on plastic poisoning and restoring plastic wastelands.” Other items that consumers are being offered are re-used tyre wallets, recycled plastic files and products made from agro waste and banana fibre. The list extends to lights from earthen lamps and candles, natural soaps and shampoos, woven bags and even virtual fireworks.

In India, various local papers have drawn attention to official checks on adulterated sweets and have warned consumers to stay vigilant. Blogger Nityin, in a post entitled “Say no to sweets this Diwali” warns consumers about adulterated sweets containing, for example, refined palm stearin, a non-edible byproduct of crude palm oil. With the heavy demand during the festive season, adulterated sweets are sold in bulk in markets, and he mentions a recent incident in Shimla when the Municipal Corporation seized piles of adulterated sweets. Moreover, he laments the lack of proper checks on food quality and the fact that by the time samples reach labs for testing, the bulk has already been consumed. To make matters worse, shops found to sell adulterated produce “are still doing brisk business as the cases keep dragging in the courts.”

Indeed, health is something that is stressed by several brands. For example, the Indian Brands Today website highlights real fruit juice Diwali gift packs from the long-established Dabur India brand. According to K K Chutani, Marketing Head of Dabur's Foods Division: “Consumers today are becoming extremely health-conscious and are looking for healthy and non-traditional gifting options. In this scenario, Dabur's healthy gifts are a welcome change from the calorie-laden traditional gifting options. Our gift packs offer the best combination of taste and nutrition when we have traditionally seen a sharp rise in sugar intake during the Diwali season, thanks to the higher consumption of mithai [traditional sweets] etc. With our gift packs, we are offering consumers a chance to gift their loved ones good health this Diwali.”

The shadow of recession

A recent scare about gold prices got countless Indian consumers jittery, in a culture in which love for gold which is regarded as security and highly prized, is central, and gold gifting is common.

Meanwhile, The Times of India highlights the impact the rise in milk prices will have on the favourite Hindu mithai sweets in an article entitled “For sweet lovers, a bitter spiral this Diwali”. With a steep rise in milk prices across the capital, sweet shop owners say they have no option but to increase the prices by 15-20% as compared to last year, the cost of milk has gone up by 25-30%, while there has been a corresponding sharp rise in the cost of milk products like ghee which are used in preparing various sweets. “While the cost of milk and other materials always moves north in the festive season, Mithai shop owners say it has gone up unexpectedly this time. Some shops have even cut down on the variety they offer.”

Outlook

It appears that not even a recessionary climate can seriously dampen Diwali consumption in India and internationally. The spending spree continues to export itself well through online retail while consumers are clearly comfortable with an expanded repertoire of Diwali gifts.

Countries and Consumers