Home appliances up for sale on Church Road in Ranchi. Bhola Prasad

Buyers throng an electronics showroom in Bistupur, Jamshedpur. Bhola Prasad

Shrugging off the GST and demonetisation blues, which impacted consumer sentiments last year, people in the steel city, capital and coal town loosened their purse strings on Dhanteras this year and went on a shopping spree. Dhanteras, when Lakshmi-Kuber duo are worshipped

for prosperity, is considered to be a lucky day to bring new wealth into the house. Animesh Bisoee, Vijay Deo Jha and Praduman Choubey find out how the various market segments fared on the buy index on this auspicious occasion.

Automobiles

Sale of cars and two-wheelers witnessed a spurt with many having booked vehicles in advance on the condition that they would be

delivered on Monday.

Dealer Pebco Motors in Jamshedpur, had 220 bookings against 170 last year, with Maruti Swift and Maruti Swift Dzire leading the pack.

According to market figures, car sales in Dhanteras stood at Rs 40 crore in the city.

“Last year, we had sold nearly 300 bikes during Dhanteras. This year, sales have already crossed the 350-mark,” general manager of Hero Motors in Bistupur Soumen Das said.

In Ranchi, around 1,500 new four-wheelers rolled out on the streets on Dhanteras.

“I booked my car in advance only after the dealer promised to deliver it today,” said Manyta Singh.

Manager of Reliable Industries at Saraidhela (Dhanbad).

Samiran Pal said sales were likely to increase by more than 20 per cent over last year. He said total advance bookings worth Rs 9 crore were 20 per cent more than total sales of Rs 7.5 crore last year.

Sharad Dudani, owner of Guru Kripa Auto, said two-wheeler sales had risen 10 per cent this year.

Customers check out jewellery at a shop on Main Road in Ranchi. Manob Chowdhary

Utensils

Utensil sellers in the steel city and the capital ruled out a slump in business, but Dhanbad traders were disappointed.

“People are still opting for copper and steel utensils and crockery sets,” said Saurabh Kauntia of Saurabh Enterprise in Sakchi.

Ranchi homemaker Pooja Jha said she saw no point in spending mindlessly only to flaunt wealth.

S.P. Jaiswal, owner Steel Center in Dhanbad, witnessed a 75 per cent decline in sales. “Online buying options and changing mindset of

customers might be the reason,” he added.

Jewellery

Jewellery shopping picked up in Ranchi and Dhanbad, but was unlikely to top last year’s figures in the steel city.

“Light and middle-weight gold and diamond items along with silver coins are in demand,” said Sunil Verma, director of Kuldip Sons Jewellers in Bistupur.

In Ranchi, almost all big jewellery shops received heavy footfall. “I purchased silver idols of Lakshmi and Ganesh, besides few British-era coins,” said Ajay Sharma.

Manoj Kumar, owner of a jewellery shop in Dhanbad’s Jewar Bazar, said sales were up 50 per cent this year.

“Advance bookings worth around Rs 50 lakh were registered this year against sales of Rs 33 lakh last year,” he added.

Electronics

Refrigerators, smart TVs, smartphones and dishwashers sold like hot cakes. Sales in Jamshedpur and Dhanbad were up 20 and 25 per cent while shopkeepers in Ranchi witnessed a 15 per cent rise in demand.

“Sales in the city and on its outskirts are likely to touch Rs 80 crore,” said Raja Singh, proprietor of National Electronics in Sakchi, Jamshedpur.

Md Munna, owner of Bharat Electronics in Ranchi, said sales would amount to Rs 15 crore.

“This year, advance bookings worth around 70 lakh have been registered against total sales of Rs 48 lakh last year,” Sushant Tandon, owner of Herson’s Electronics in Dhanbad, said.