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Jewellers home deliver gold on Gudi Padwa, sales take a hit
Jewellers in Pune used the online booking and home delivery option for customers who wanted to buy gold on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, but there was a big difference in the number of people purchasing gold online over physically at the shop
Jewellers in Pune used the online booking and home delivery option for customers who wanted to buy gold on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, but there was a big difference in the number of people purchasing gold online over physically at the shop.
“Jewellers opted for the online option on Gudi Padwa. We also provided the online buying option to our customers and had kept the facility open until 5 pm on Monday, so that gold can be delivered on the festive occasion. People look forward to getting the gold on Gudi Padwa,” said Amit Modak, director-CEO, PN Gadgil and Sons.
There is often a great deal of buzz in the jewellery market on Gudi Padwa which is considered to be an auspicious day to buy gold, however, with restrictions on movement in place, jewellers kept their businesses shut.
Fattechand Ranka, president of the Maharashtra Rajya Saraf Suvarnakar Federation and managing director of Ranka jewellers admitted that there’s no personal touch for customers in the online purchase of gold.
“All the Sarafa market is closed in Pune, only the online purchase option is available. We are getting a usual response for online gold purchase. Of course, there is the personal touch missing. People mostly buy pure gold online. There is a home delivery facility for online purchase. They get home delivery after 2-3 days,” Ranka said.
The rate of 24 carat gold in Pune on Tuesday was ₹45,760 per 10 gram whereas 22 carat gold cost ₹44,760 per 10 gram.
Despite the fact that the online booking and home delivery option has been available for gold purchase, jewellers say that there is still a limit to online booking and people still prefer to buy gold in person.
“People are opting out to buy gold or diamond online but if you compare it with the usual sale in the shops it is not even 1 percent of it. People usually prefer to purchase heavy gold items in person. Online purchases mostly range up to 20,000 for light items. Online gold purchase has limits and we are aware of that, doesn’t matter how much concession we give, people still prefer to buy gold in person. It was still not clear to people if shops are going to be closed or open till Sunday. So they couldn’t decide whether to buy online or wait to go to the shops. So, there were fewer bookings online as well,” said Modak.
Car dealers in the city also provided home delivery to their customers on the occasion of Gudi Padwa as automobile showrooms were also closed in the city.
Anant Gajendragadkar, a resident of Kothrud got his brand-new car home delivered on Tuesday.
“I had booked this car three weeks ago. Of course, I would have liked to go to the showroom and bring my new car home, but the situation is different now. We all should take care as much as possible,” Gajendragadkar said.
