Gold’s 20% correction revives jewellery footfall, but organised volumes may still fall 13–15%
Wedding and festive buying is lifting store traffic after Adhik Maas, with Swastik Jewels reporting footfall at 75–80% of normal. But elevated gold prices are pushing shoppers toward lighter purchases and old-gold exchanges, which now account for up to 70% of jewellery sales.
What happened
Joyalukkas · India’s jewellery retailers report a post-Adhik Maas footfall recovery, supported by wedding and festive buying, but high gold prices and import
Key facts
- 24-karat gold price: ₹1,41,348-₹1,45,860 per 10 grams
- Year-ago 24-karat gold price: ₹1,05,000-₹1,07,000 per 10 grams
- Gold prices corrected roughly 20% from record highs
- Swastik Jewels walk-ins fell around 30%
- Senco Gold footfall declined 25% during Adhik Maas
- Senco Gold Q1 FY27 revenue grew 60% year-on-year
- Swastik Jewels footfall recovered to 75-80% of normal
- Typical transaction range: ₹60,000-₹80,000
- Old-gold exchange volumes rose 10-20%
- Old-gold exchanges account for up to 70% of jewellery sales
- Organised jewellery retail volumes projected to decline 13-15% year-on-year this fiscal
- Sector volume projected at 620-640 tonnes this fiscal
- Sales volume contracted 8% in the previous fiscal
- India imported around 720 tonnes of gold in FY26, worth nearly $72 billion
Why this matters
Prioritise targets or partnerships with strong old-gold sourcing, exchange processing and lightweight product capabilities, as these are becoming critical to winning demand in a high-price environment.
What to watch
- Gold price direction in rupees after the 20% correction, including rupee depreciation and global safe-haven demand.
- Old-gold exchange share sustaining above 60-70% versus shifting back to fresh purchases.
- Footfall-to-bill conversion and grams per transaction during wedding and festive weeks.
- Making-charge discounting, inventory days and gross-margin commentary from organised chains.
- Wedding-date density, rural cash-flow conditions and consumer credit availability.
- Market-share gains by organised retailers versus local jewellers and bullion-led purchases.
- Prioritise old-gold exchange desks, instant valuation and purity assurance to convert revived store traffic into transactions.
- Expand lightweight, modular and lower-gram wedding collections while protecting making-charge realisation.
- Use targeted festive and wedding appointment campaigns rather than broad gold-price promotions that can compress margins.
- Tighten gold inventory turns and hedge exposure; avoid building heavy bridal inventory ahead of price volatility.
- Track store-level conversion, grams per bill, exchange share and studded-jewellery mix alongside footfall.
- Accelerate omnichannel catalogue and reservation tools so consumers can compare designs and lock exchange values before visiting stores.