All that glitters is gold this Akshaya Tritiya. After two pandemic-hit years, jewellery sales have picked up this festival season despite the price rise in other commodities being a dampener.
Jewellery shops reported business picking up after the two-year lull. Many had started attracting buyers with offers and discounts in the run up to the festival. Buying gold is considered auspicious during Akshaya Tritiya, which falls on Tuesday.
T.A. Sharavana, owner of Shri Sai Gold Palace and president of Karnataka Jewellery Association, said, “The previous two years, our business had gone through losses, but this year we are getting huge response from people — both online and offline. I hope that on Tuesday, the numbers will increase further.”
Dinesh Pagariya, Director, Bangalore Jewellers Association, said with the wedding season and Akhsay Tritiya, shop owners were happy with the sales. “People have already booked their gold accessories online and most of those are going to be delivered by Tuesday. Offline sales are also going good. This year, we are observing more young customers. People are taking more interest in gold jewellery instead of saving money in the bank, as gold prices are also increasing day by day. It can be a good asset for them,” he added.
This year gold rates are also stable — around ₹4,750-4,800 average per gram. As many people were not able to buy gold in the last two years, people were not able to celebrate and buy gold, said Pranab M., owner of Preksha jewellery shop, Gandhi Bazaar.
Apart from discounts, some shops are also offering other gifts for purchases; one popular shop is giving silver coin inscribed with late actor Puneeth Rajkumar’s photo free of cost to the first 50 customers.
Citizens too had their reasons for making the splurge. Mamta S. a resident of Rajarajeshwari Nagar said, “The last two years, there owing to COVID, we faced lot of financial problems. So, we were not able to buy anything. Even now, everything has become costly. However, we have saved some money and came to buy some gold jewellery as we believe buying gold on this occasion is auspicious.”
Yashodha, a resident of Marathahalli, who was also at a gold shop, said, “I am planning to buy gold tomorrow (Tuesday). I came to see a few designs and the prices, but I’m going to buy them tomorrow on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya because it is the right time to buy gold and auspicious too. Also, during this time, jewellery shops give some discount.”
