Akshaya Tritiya, considered an auspicious day, witnessed subdued activity on Friday as the COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the spirits of people for the second consecutive year.
Gold merchants said with Akshaya Tritiya falling in the lockdown/curfew period for two successive years, the gold and jewellery trade suffered a big setback. Consumer demand, as compared to previous years, nosedived. Stores were either closed or operated only for a few hours due to the restrictions in place.
“The sales were weak due to the challenging environment in 2020. The same thing repeated this year too as there is a State-wide curfew. The physical demand for gold remains muted,” said Krishna, a jewellery shop owner.
The shops were allowed to open up to 11 a.m. only. People don’t venture out to buy gold right at the dawn. Though the shops were opened by 6 or 7 a.m., there were no buyers, rued another shop owner at Patamata.
According to information, there are about 1,000 gold, silver and jewellery shops in Vijayawada. Across the State, there are about 50,000 small jewellery shops with daily sales running into a few thousand crores.
Business was dull for small and petty traders while a moderate rush was witnessed at some corporate jewellery shops. “It is very difficult to assess the impact right now. Shops usually maintain stocks ranging from ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore which further go up during wedding season and occasions like Akshaya Tritiya as demand shoots up. But now jewellers are afraid to keep new models and stocks in view of the adverse market conditions,” said a jeweller.
The Bezwada Jewellery and Bullion Merchants’ Association secretary K. Hari Babu said that the gold and jewellery merchants had been observing self-restrictions even before the partial lockdown was imposed. “It is the corporate and big jewellery shops that usually see good sales during Akshaya Tritiya. When the concept was introduced, small traders also witnessed rush. But the trend gradually declined,” he added.
