Automobile, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and retail segments are witnessing a drop in walk-in clientele and reduced sales due to the soaring temperature. The automobile sector registered a 10 per cent drop in May in walk-in enquiries.

“The increase in temperature and continuous heatwave across the country has impacted the sales of automobiles. Between May 1 and May 24, there was a 7 per cent drop in retail sales and a 10 per cent drop in walk-in enquiries with the dealers.

The walk-in customer for an automobile dealer is very crucial. We are seeing people not stepping outside during the day at all,” said Manish Raj Singhania, President of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

The FMCG sector has seen a pick up in retail sales only during the evening throughout May, “Due to the rise in temperatures, the physical stores in the market are completely dull and there are no customers at all between 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Post 5, when the temperature starts settling down, the customers step out to buy groceries, which is unavoidable for the households. The retail stores see a major footfall between 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm,” said Ashish Khandelwal, Managing Director of BL Agro.

Cautious purchasing and reduction in non-essential spending in the retail sector have been witnessed since April. Experts have attributed the decrease to consumers pausing to spend and the increase in summer travel across the country.

“The retail segment has seen a decrease in walk-ins since April. There is a general hesitation among people to spend and discretionary items are not a priority. The heat wave and people travelling have impacted the spending but consumers are spending elsewhere, Athleisure and travel wise spends have increased,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India.

White goods

While consumers have restrained their discretionary spending, the demand for cooling products including Air-Conditioners (AC), air-coolers and refrigerators has seen a rapid uptick

“The walk-ins and sales have gone up due to the high demand for cooling products. There has been a growth of 60 per cent in air conditioners and similar growth in air coolers. Online sales too have gone up, especially of cooling products by more than 60 per cent,” said Nilesh Gupta, Director of Vijay Sales.

AC manufacturers have increased their production with the increase in sales.

“From March to May, AC sales increased by 103 per cent compared to the same period last year. In FY 23, cooling products contributed approximately 40 per cent to our growth. This year, we project 35 per cent-40 per cent growth in ACs and 30 per cent in refrigerators. We anticipate an overall double-digit growth in the cooling appliances category, reaffirming our commitment to superior products and customer satisfaction,” said NS Satish, President of Haier Appliances India.

“Our AC sales this summer have grown more than 2X over last year,” said Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President, of Godrej Appliances part of Godrej & Boyce

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