People are slowly beginning to loosen their purse strings, as the festival of lights nears and the din of offers and discounts gets louder by the day.
Most consumer durable companies admit that sales in the last 10-12 days have been good as consumers rush to take advantage of the offers and discounts.
Says Y V Verma, chief operating officer, LG Electronics, the largest consumer durables manufacturer in the country, "There has been a good pick-up in sales in the last 10 days. We are happy."
A spokesperson for the second-largest consumer durables maker, Samsung, also echoes a similar sentiment.
"From Navratri onwards, which began on September 28, the momentum has been good. This should sustain right through to Diwali."
On an average, most consumer durable firms are expecting sales growth this festive to be in the region of 25-30 per cent -- a tad lower than the 40 per cent growth they saw last year.
Despite this what is making them happy is that consumers are back.
"We are on track to achieving our sales targets," says Shantanu Dasgupta, vice-president (corporate affairs and strategy) at home appliances major, Whirlpool.
Pradeep Dhoot, president, Videocon Industries, says the sentiment is good. "As Diwali nears, we expect to see more consumers stepping out to shop. This should help," he says.
Typically, firms spend double the amount on advertising and sales promotions during the festive period to cash in on the spirit.
This is easily eight to nine per cent of monthly sales in comparison to 4.5
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