Consumer sentiment ‘weak’ for buying festive clothes, this festive season: CMAI survey

According to a survey conducted by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), festive season 2024 is expected to have ‘weak’ consumer sentiment for clothing. CMAI says 63% of respondents anticipate either the same or lower sales of clothing and apparel compared to last year. Of these, nearly 25% expect sales to drop as low as 75% of the previous year’s figures.

The biggest factor impacting the subdued sentiments appeared to be the significant shift in larger wallet share of the consumer spending moving towards other avenues of lifestyle – with 35% of the respondents attributing low expectations to this factor, CMAI said in a statement. 24% respondents attributed a slowing economy and inflation to be the top challenges at the moment.

Amongst the apparel categories, menswear seems to have been the worst affected, with 75% of the respondents expecting womenswear and kids wear to perform better in terms of demand during the season. The survey reveals that, 75% of respondents believe mid-priced brands will perform best during the season, while 18% think low-priced brands will fare better. Additionally, 52% of respondents expect strong demand for Indian wear, followed by casual wear, with formal wear falling out of favour.

Furthermore, the survey shows an encouraging 75.5% preference for offline retail against 24.5% for online retail despite growing penetration of the e-commerce industry in India. “Considering the sluggish business environment that our industry has experienced in the past six months, the trends are not surprising,” said Rajesh Masand, president, CMAI. “Yet, we are hopeful of not missing out on the Festive spending and expect demand to gradually surge considering the Wedding season later in the year.”

CMAI is an association of the Indian apparel industry having over 5,000 members and serving more than 25,000 retailers across India. It advocates regarding policies and also guides its members on environmental, social, and governance related matters and initiatives.